


Irregularity

by CayleanTerre



Category: Assassination Classroom, Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CayleanTerre/pseuds/CayleanTerre
Summary: Nagisa blinked.Karma blinked.Gakushuu blinked."Shit," Karma voiced, as the three of them saw the large stone monument depicting some old men's faces.________When the trio end up in a completely different universe and have to find a way back home while simultaneously not dying.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Comments: 81
Kudos: 494





	1. A Different World

Nagisa wondered if he was dead.

His mind was in a fog, his body feeling heavier than lead. Faintly, he heard voices piercing through the haze. The voices overlapped each other, as if his head was submerged under water, hearing the gurgling of sound. That was when he felt the first jerk of his hand, the uncontrollable twitch in his fingers that let him know that he had some control over his body. Blindly, he focused all of his energy into where his arm should be. His whole world was pain as he tried to lift it up before he heard the voices stop.

He could hear more clearly now.

"Shiota?" Nagisa couldn't place the voice, but he knew he had heard it before, "Shiota, do you hear me?"

"Nagisa, if you don't wake up, I'm going to kiss you--" There it was, a voice he definitely remembered.

Nagisa felt glorious air enter his lungs as he retched and coughed at the same time, tears nearly flowing down his cheeks at the wonderful sensation of being able to breathe again. He felt everything from his pounding heart to the different colors of light that streamed through his eyes. He blinked several times before he saw two heads of contrasting color: bright blood-red and lighter strawberry-blond locks.

Nagisa couldn't help but stare.

The faces were younger, but no one could mistake them for anyone else. The burning violet eyes and the mischievous mercury irises.

"K-Karma? Asano-kun?" Nagisa coughed as he rubbed his eyes again to see the two still before him.

"Well, well," Karma grinned foxily, "if is isn't Sleeping Beauty all done with her beauty rest. Had a nice nap, Nagisa?"

"W-where are we?" Nagisa stammered as he looked around the unfamiliar room, "h-how?"

"Believe me, it was quite a shock when I woke up here, next to Second Place-san," Karma said, as Asano Gakushuu gave him a look of purest loathing.

"It was one time, Akabane," Gakushuu snapped, "if I remember correctly, a certain red-headed someone also practically failed their end of semester exams."

Karma's eye twitched, his mouth opened to possibly blurt an expletive or perhaps to remind the infamous Asano Gakushuu of the recent test scores before Nagisa placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Karma," Nagisa murmured, "do you know where this is?"

Karma's annoyance faded away immediately, replaced with the knitting of his eyebrows. "I asked one of the kids here, he just looked at me like I was crazy. He said that we're in the village, whatever the hell that means. I managed to read the sign though, apparently we're in an orphanage."

Nagisa inspected his hands and touched his own face.

"We've gotten younger," Gakushuu spoke, "about eight or nine by my guess."

Nagisa felt horribly sick. "I don't remember how I got here," he said, "the last thing I remember is getting ready for graduation--" His eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed Karma by the shoulders, "Karma! We missed graduation!"

Karma sat, stunned by his friend's outburst. "Nagisa..." he looked at him, "we're stranded in God knows where and you're worried about gradation?"

"For once, I agree with Akabane," Gakushuu folded his arms, his violet eyes cold and calculating, much like his own father's, "our priority is to get as much information as we can. Once we have established a firm foundation, only then can we begin to figure out how to return home."

Nagisa sank back to his knees, trying to recollect his own wits. He had to be calm, he had to first understand what was going on. Nagisa took several deep breaths, trying to think back to what Koro-sensei would do. A sudden squeeze in his heart made his expression crumple as he was reminded once again of what he had lost.

I killed my own sensei.

The door suddenly creaked open as all three boys turned to the source. A middle-aged woman wearing a very dirty and stained apron wrung out a long, soaked towel as she glowered down at them. "Aren't you lazy brats going to The Academy?" She interrogated fiercely, "shoo! Off with you!"

"Listen old lady," Karma said, "we don't know where we are—"

"OLD LADY???!!!!" She hissed, her eyes practically popping out of her sockets, "I WILL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!"

The three of them fled for their lives from the enraged woman swinging a broomstick at them. "Quick!" Karma wheezed, "open the door!"

Gakushuu was already on it, bolting towards the handle and wrenching the door open as the three of them slammed it behind them. Heavy panting followed as the three of them concentrated on just breathing. After a moment, their heads turned to face each other.

It was like a giant water balloon suddenly exploded in their midst as Nagisa was the one to chuckle tentatively at first, joined by Karma. For the first time since they arrived in this place, amusement tugged at the ends of their lips. Even the stoic Asano Gakushuu had a slight twitch to his lips that he was trying his best to disguise.

"Look, the stone statue laughs—" Karma gasped, placing his hand over Gakushuu's forehead. "Ne, Asano-kun," Karma feigned worry, "are you sure you're feeling alright? I can call an ambulance—"

Gakushuu scowled before swatting the hand away and cleared his throat. "The woman said something about 'The Academy.' We should figure out what it is."

"Well, that's easy," Karma snapped his fingers with a malicious grin on his face, "you said we look about eight, right?" Nagisa decided that he did not like the devil-like aura that was rapidly spreading around Karma's body.

A few minutes later, Karma had extracted all the information he needed from a scrawny seven-year old who nearly pissed his pants. "You didn't have to be so rough with him," Nagisa reprimanded.

Karma rolled his eyes. "Sure, Nagisa, I'll ask really nicely next time."

"Save it for later," Gakushuu said tersely, "the boy said we are in Konohagakure, a Hidden shinobi village in the Land of Fire. While I'm still skeptical on such information, I cannot deny that it explains why all the citizens are dressed so strangely and why they are carrying such highly dangerous weapons in broad daylight without being arrested."

"And the Academy...it is basically like a school to train these shinobi, right?" Nagisa asked.

"Hn," Karma confirmed, stuffing his hands into his pocket, "I sense that we are caught in a pickle."

Both Nagisa and Gakushuu gave Karma a flat look at the word choice.

"What?" Karma shrugged defensively, "I'm eight right now."

"Anyways," Gakushuu emphasized, "I think we are all in a consensus here. We have to find a way to get back home. If only we knew what dropped us here in the first place..." He sighed, massaging his temple. "Either way, we don't know how the village operates nor how to navigate around it. I say the best chance we have is to act like we belong and try to find out some information along the way."

Both Karma and Nagisa couldn't find a way to refute his reasoning. "And here I was—finally happy that I got to graduate from school," Karma hummed under his breath, "back to finger-painting in primary school, right?"

It turned out, much to Karma's disappointment, that the Academy was not a place for finger-painting. When they were all seated behind the plain wooden desks, they were each asked to introduce themselves. Karma sighed in disinterest when his turn came. "Name's Akabane Karma," he said, "salutations."

"What are your hobbies?" The man named Iruka questioned.

Hitting people who deserve it, Karma thought to himself before he masked the expression with a carefree, innocent one. "Finger-painting," Karma answered, ignoring Gakushuu's groan beside him, "I am going to be the next Picasso."

"Picasso?" Iruka tilted his head to the side, "who's that?" He asked curiously.

"My dead father," Karma lied, remembering that they were orphans, "he made the best damn paintings in the world."

Iruka nodded before turning to Gakushuu. "And you, Gakushuu-kun, what are your hobbies and interests?"

"I like to learn, sensei," Gakushuu said with an honest enthusiasm that shocked both Nagisa and Karma, "I hope to learn much under your tutelage." Iruka warmed at that, giving the boy a smile. 

"And would you like to introduce yourself?" Nagisa tensed a bit when the attention shifted to him.

"Uh..uh..I.." Nagisa wanted to curse his own stutter, "my name is Nagisa Shiota. And I—"

"Are you a girl?" One of his classmates questioned, making Nagisa duck his head in embarrassment. Even now, it seemed that he would have to tackle this problem.

"I...I..." Nagisa found that what little self confidence he had dwindled in his frustrated eight-year old mind.

"He's a boy," Karma said coolly, "more than you at any rate."

"What did you say?!" the boy flushed angrily as Karma stuck out his tongue.

"Now, now, settle down," Iruka rapped on his desk with a ruler before looking upon Nagisa sympathetically, "would you like to share any of your hobbies, Nagisa-kun?"

Nagisa felt himself reddening at all the attention focused on him. "I-uh...I like to watch movies," he said, relaxing a bit when there were no mocking jeers, "superhero movies."

Iruka nodded as he went to the next person. "Nara Ren."

Nagisa released the breath he held in his chest before looking towards Karma and Gakushuu. The former gave a brief nod before leaning back in his chair. Nagisa swiveled his eyes to attentively look at each person that the sensei announced. Noting each person, Nagisa began to feel a bit better about the situation. At least, even though he was eight years old, his observational skills haven't diminished.

After the introductions, Iruka sensei instructed them to open their books, eliciting a few groans from here and there. Gakushuu was already the model student, offering to read the passage first. In a steady voice, he read about the shinobi rulebook which Nagisa found to be everything that they were taught in their Assassination Classroom.

"Rule number four," Gakushuu read clearly, "A Shinobi Must Always Put Their Mission First."

Nagisa furrowed his eyebrows at that, feeling uncomfortableness pierce the air. Were missions placed before comrades in this village?

The lessons were straightforwards and practical, applying math to things such as calculating the distance between the target and oneself as well as shuriken throwing. Karma and Gakushuu were already heads and shoulders above the rest as their burning rivalry waxed hotly.

Even Iruka was slightly dazed at the way they spoke with such confidence and intelligence in their voices.

"Alright, it's time to go outside," Iruka shut his textbook as several cheers were heard, "we'll run two laps to warm up and then we will spar."

Both Nagisa and Karma had trained extensively with Karasuma to the point where two laps were no different than taking another breath of air. Asano Gakushuu was no different; being the perfect model student meant that he juggled several sports in lieu with his studies.

After the two laps were complete, Iruka asked, "Alright, who would like to challenge?"

A hand was thrusted in the air and Nagisa recognized the boy who had raged at Karma earlier. "I'll challenge you, Akabane," he scowled, "unless you're too cowardly to fight."

Karma cocked his head to the side as Nagisa read the danger signs. He grabbed his friend's elbow as the former gave him a sidelong glance. "Don't go too overboard," Nagisa whispered ins his ear, "we don't want to attract too much attention."

Karma narrowed his bright gold eyes, now gleaming a dangerous mercury. "I know," he shrugged off Nagisa's hold as he slouched, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I heard Akabane is quite the fighter," Gakushuu sidled up to Nagisa, his violet eyes calculating, "is he really all that?"

"That and more," Nagisa affirmed, "he's brilliant at combat."

"Then he should have no problem."

Nagisa focused on the match in front of him as Iruka sensei showed them the seal of confrontation. "Start!" he shouted as soon as the two made them.

The boy lunged forwards, his fist pulled back. Nagisa saw well that it was a feint as did Karma. Karma side-stepped both blows before he delivered a similar one to the boy's knee. His leg collapsing underneath him, Karma spun and raised his leg high into the air.

Nagisa winced, knowing all too well what it was like at the receiving end of that axe-kick.

However, Karma's opponent sprang back up and successfully nailed him in the face. Nagisa saw that despite himself, Karma was holding himself back and breathed a sigh of relief that his friend was following his advice. Karma feigned hurt from the blow. However, that was the last shot that the boy would ever land.

Even at eight years old, Karma's ridiculous strength was not something to be overlooked. As the boy lunged again with a kidney punch, Karma twisted his wrist painfully before flipping him over to the ground. His foot barely an inch above his opponent's windpipe, Karma asked in a bored voice, "Yield?"

The boy's eyes burned with indignation but he groaned when Karma put a bit of pressure on his neck.

"Yield."

"Winner--Akabane Karma!" Iruka announced.

His opponent spat on the ground, wiping the side of his mouth with pure loathe brimming in his eyes.

"You're dead, Akabane!" He sneered and rising up, he sauntered away.

Karma was unfazed by the threat, gold eyes unreadable as he turned to Nagisa and Gakushuu. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something important before the sound of a stomach growling hit the air.

Nagisa reddened noticeably, feeling relieved when the school bell chimed and the students all rushed to get their books and escape from the confines of the Academy.

Gakushuu cleared his throat when everyone but them had left. "If you're hungry, Shiota, we can head back to the orphanage and eat—"

"No, it's fine," Nagisa shook his head adamantly, "I'm quite alright. Our priority should be finding a way back home."

Both Karma and Gakushuu looked unconvinced but they were unable to sway Nagisa.

Thus, ten minutes later, they found themselves before a massive desk with shelves upon shelves of dark wood, spines of dusty and new books peeping from their cases.

Meanwhile, Asano had somehow charmed the librarian, his usually cold, amethyst eyes turning to warm and liquid lavender. In no time, they had a stack of books ranging from theoretical physics to something called space-time ninjutsu.

"How did you manage this?" Karma asked, a bit of mocking in his voice.

"As someone said, we are eight years old. I have my ways," Gakushuu replied tersely, "now start reading."

"Hai, hai."

Nagisa noticed that even Karma, who hated to bow to orders, was now reading without complaint. Now that truly meant that they were in a dire situation.

"Space-time ninjutsu," Gakushuu said out of the blue, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Back in junior high, that would mean a calculating, dangerous look but as an eight year old, he simply looked like a kid deciding on which ice cream flavor he should have.

Both Nagisa and Karma craned their necks to look at his page.

Complicated formulas lathered the page and tiny, smudged writing were in the margins. Nagisa felt himself getting a headache just by staring at it.

"It's like physics," Asano said, his voice quickening, "theoretical physics, to be exact. Wormholes and different dimensions and things like that. I'm not too sure what these formulas indicate yet, they seem to be a combination though—"

"This one's a series," Karma tapped a numerical progression on the side of the page, "I would say it's a recipe of sorts for these....jutsu.."

Nagisa slumped back in his seat.

"How long would it take to decipher them?" Nagisa asked.

"Hard to say," Gakushuu's eyebrows furrowed, "we still lack much knowledge on whatever world or universe this is. There's a lot of mention of something called "chakra" here. As much as I'd hate to believe it, supernatural forces are also in play."

"Furthermore, if we're going to ask questions about this stuff, we don't know how long we can go without arousing suspicion," Karma interjected, "we don't know the power dynamic in this village. The best thing to do is to lie low and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike."

"If we do decipher it," Nagisa said slowly, "What can we do? I can't claim to be an expert, but we need this "chakra" to even attempt to go home, right?"

All three were silent. Mastering this force meant staying in that Academy, to learn more. Who knew how long that would take?

Then, Karma spoke, "It's not like anyone's going to miss me back home."

Nagisa imagined his mother and father right now, the promise that they would get back together. His fist clenched but he knew better than to give into his frustration. If they even wanted a chance in returning, they needed to be careful. Careful and patient.

Gakushuu's eyes glinted. "We have no choice. We either blend in or die as far as I'm concerned. This is a ninja village, so we must be cautious in how we proceed."

Both Nagisa and Karma nodded.

"So we're in agreement?" Gakushuu asked.

"Hai, hai, Second-Place -san."

"Shut up!"


	2. Of Bells and Scarecrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team meets Kakashi Hatake. 
> 
> Things happen. 
> 
> Kakashi wants to die by the end of this.

Four years later  
________________

Kakashi Hatake stared at the roster for his new team. Ever since the failed dynamic of Team 7, he had been loathe to accept a new one but the Godaime Hokage had been adamant.

He had to continue training the new generation. Just looking at his team assignment made the feared jonin feel old, but he simply sighed and stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket.

It was days like these that made him wish he could be a Nara—just looking up at the lazy clouds. Of course, he would rather read Icha Icha Paradise than stare at clouds but that was besides the point.

He had heard of the geniuses of the graduating class: both of them being assigned to his team.

Akabane Karma and Asano Gakushuu. They had the highest grades that Kakashi had yet to see and their capabilities were praised far and wide among the sensei.

Then there was the third one.

Shiota Nagisa.

In all respects, a perfectly average student. Kakashi sighed, massaging his temple. If this team was going to be anything close to the flawed power dynamic in Team 7, Kakashi felt that he should just pack his bags and leave.

And so, as per his custom, Kakashi headed for the classroom about two hours late.

"It'd be hilarious if they stuck an eraser in the doorway," Kakashi muttered, as he pushed open the door. What he saw made him stand, a bit shocked and surprised.

Complicated jutsu formulas covered the chalkboard, upon which a strawberry-blond haired boy was writing with extreme speed and precision. The poor piece of chalk flew across with the speed of a kunai.

Kakashi fancied that there was a fire igniting from the heated amethyst gaze of the boy. Next to him, a boy with the brightest red hair that Kakashi had seen since Kushina Uzumaki was lying across a desk with a book covering his eyes.

Kakashi just stood there, a bit wary.

"Ne, ji-san," A slightly mocking voice came from the red-headed student, "have you happened to see our sensei? I think he's forgotten how to read a clock."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as the boy lifted the book from his face and snapped it closed. Mercury eyes filled with mischief pierced Kakashi's, deceit etched in every angle of the irises.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake," He said, clearing his throat, "I apologize for being late. There was an old lady—"

"Can everyone just please shut up?!" The strawberry blond haired student remarked crossly, as he drew a line across a circle and studied it for a good ten seconds. Then, with a frustrated groan, he snapped the chalk and threw it in the waste bin. "Useless," he muttered, "it'll take a full decade at this rate!"

"What is that?" Kakashi questioned, seeing parts of space-time formulas.

"We're trying to get back to our universe," the boy said irately.

Kakashi turned a lazy eye to him, trying to decipher if it was sarcasm or not. In any case, the boy didn't seem to remotely care.

"Where is your third teammate?" Kakashi asked, "Shiota Nagisa?" 

"Here, sensei," Kakashi jolted upon feeling the poke in his side as he turned to see a small-statured blue-haired boy.

He smiled harmlessly, dimples appearing in the warm gesture.

"We've been waiting for you, sensei," Nagisa said, shifting his weight to the side, "everyone else left so we thought that something went wrong."

"Something did go wrong," Karma said, "our teacher is a lazy ass, that's what's wrong." He hopped from the desk, a similar harmless smile appearing on his face. "Don't think we hold it against you, sensei," he said pleasantly, "I'm quite lazy, myself. I look forwards to our years together—" he held out his hand to him.

Kakashi didn't accept the handshake. "Perhaps lose the kunai hidden in your sleeve," he said.

Karma grinned, flicking it out. "So you noticed? There may be hope for you yet."

Kakashi didn't know how to feel as he turned to the violet-eyed boy from earlier. "My name is Asano Gakushuu," he bowed, "pleased to meet your acquaintance, Kakashi sensei."

When he rose, the same smile was plastered effortlessly on his face but Kakashi caught the burning violet gaze from earlier.

It warned him immediately of danger.

Nevertheless, he decided to act nonchalant for the time being. 

"Alright," he said, placing his hands on his hips, "let's go outside."

Once they were outside, he led them to the same spot that he had started with Team 7. He was never really the nostalgic type but the small, squatting forms of his new students reminded him of the silhouettes of the ones he had lost. 

"First off," Kakashi said, leaning against the baluster, "let us begin with introductions." 

He half-expected a smart-ass comment from the redhead, but the mischievous mercury eyes just glinted. "I am Akabane Karma, an orphan," he said, "I like superhero movies and comic books. I also like to engage in friendly physical matches to the death." 

Birds chirped. 

"Alright," Kakashi tore his eye from the redhead, "how about you, little mathematician?" 

Asano Gakushuu never really enjoyed pet names. Kakashi could see it full well in the gritting of his jaw but the boy put on an excellent farce. "My name is Asano Gakushuu," he said, "I am also an orphan. I enjoy learning and reading various books to help me attain new knowledge." 

"He also likes kissing sensei's ass," Karma coughed behind his fist as an irk mark appeared on the strawberry-blond's forehead. 

"I also hate people who are unable to restrain their mouths," Gakushuu continued with a pointed look, "it just shows how truly weak their self-control is." 

Kakashi looked between the two boys who were glaring at each other. Then, he motioned to the small blue-haired one who was sandwiched in between them. "Hi," the blue-haired one said shyly, "my name is Shiota Nagisa. I am also an orphan and I...well...I like superhero movies like Karma and I also enjoy sweets." He looked up at Kakashi, as if that was all there was to him. 

"Any dreams or aspirations?" Kakashi asked slowly. 

Nagisa shrugged, smiling. "I just want to be the best I can be as a shinobi." 

"So let me get this straight," Kakashi pointed at them, "all three of you are orphans?" 

"Slow on the uptake, aren't you, teach?" Karma clicked his tongue, "yes, all three of us are orphans. Got a problem with that?" 

"I assume you are all acquainted with each other?" Kakashi asked smoothly. 

"Well, we are all friends," Karma said, "so is Second-Place san but he doesn't want to admit it." 

"I beat you in the last examination, Akabane," Gakushuu hissed, "two points higher, to be exact. So mind your mouth before calling me Second-Place." 

"Pah, it's just shuriken training," Karma sniffed, "I beat you in finger-painting last week." 

"That's not even a real class!" 

"How dare you," Karma feigned hurt, "art is at another caliber that people like you cannot even comprehend." 

"Want to say it to my face, you--" 

Nagisa Shiota tried to mediate between them as always, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Unlike the polished class-president back in their world, this image of Asano was noticeably more on edge, though Karma's taunts did nothing to help that. 

"How about you, sensei?" Nagisa asked, trying to divert the two's attentions, "what is your name?"

"I'm Kakashi Hatake," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "well, I don't fell like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes. As for hobbies...well...I have a lot of hobbies." 

Karma started clapping, feigning tears in his eyes. "What a heart-rending intro," he wiped his eye, sniffling, "truly a masterpiece. You should take notes, Second-Place s---" 

Before Karma could finish, Gakushuu had tackled him to the ground. The two bickered while rolling around on the cement, trying to maul each other to the death. Nagisa simply sweatdropped, feeling as if their maturity level had decreased by tons since they arrived to this universe. But perhaps that was the absence of the pressures of their world. 

"If you're all quite done," Kakashi said coolly, "there is something important that needs to be discussed." 

The two boys stopped squabbling immediately. 

"We will embark on a new mission tomorrow," Kakashi said, crossing his arms, "a survival exercise to be precise. Success or failure determines whether you remain as a Genin or get sent back to the Academy." 

"I see," Gakushuu folded his hands primly on his lap, "so the earning of the headbands was just a cover-up. To give us a taste of success, only to snatch it right back out of our hands if we fail." 

"Perceptive," Kakashi acknowledged, "Konoha is one of the main shinobi villages and thus, we need to root out talent from failure to ensure success on missions. This survival exercise will accomplish just that. Tomorrow, we meet at five in the morning in the training fields. Bring your complete set of ninja tools." 

Kakashi walked off in the other direction before stopping in his tracks. "Oh wait, I forgot. A friendly little reminder--" he pivoted on his heel, facing them with a cold, grey stare, "you might want to skip breakfast tomorrow, or you'll end up puking on your own shoes."

____________

Kakashi didn't expect this. All three of them. All three of them were late. 

Of course, it wasn't as if he had arrived early or anything. In fact, he arrived at his usual three-hours late speed. But this was ridiculous. 

Not a single trace of the three genin. 

And so, Kakashi Hatake was obliged to wait, back leaning against a tree. 

When the clock hit nine, he heard the rustling of feet against grass and the three of his students emerging. "You're late," he intoned coolly as his eye zoned onto the strawberry milk carton in Karma's hand. Karma did not even seem abashed in the least as he slurped loudly. 

"Sorry, sensei," Karma laughed, "but I was too busy trying to eat a big, complete breakfast. You can't start off the day without a nice meal inside of you." He crumpled the carton in his hand before stuffing it into his pocket. 

The Gakushuu-boy then tore out a wad of paper from his notebook before throwing it at Kakashi, who caught it deftly. He looked on it to see a bunch of calculations and underneath that, an underlined and quite massive fraction. "That was the probability that you would show up on time," Gakushuu shrugged, "we simply decided to beat you at your own game." 

Kakashi was now completely irritated and a bit intrigued as well. 

"Sorry sensei," Nagisa said, staring at his feet, "I tried to tell the other two to comply with your orders but they wouldn't listen." 

"Don't say sorry, Nagisa," Karma slung an arm lazily around his friend's thin frame, "our precious sensei was the one who so rudely and blatantly showed up late on the most important day of our lives." 

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "Are you expecting an apology?" 

"No," Karma cocked his head to the side, "I am expecting a bit better from you." 

Kakashi couldn't resist a chuckle at that. "You three are strange, I'll give you that," he said, "much different from my last team." 

"Oh," Karma snapped, "I forgot. We did some research on you the other day. You were the captain of failed Team 7, right? The one with the rogue Uchiha Sasuke?" 

Kakashi did not stiffen or give him any reaction. "Yes," he replied. 

Karma grinned, yellow eyes glittering. "Amazing that you returned to preach teamwork once again." 

Kakashi did not respond to the taunt, simply set the timer next to him. 

"Enough with pleasantries," he said, as he held up two bells attached with a string, "your assignment is to take these two bells from me by noon. Those who can't do it won't get lunch." Kakashi pointed to the nearby logs, "they will, instead, be tied to that and I'll eat my lunch in front of your very eyes." 

The three of them just stared. 

Nagisa raised his hand. 

"Yes?" Kakashi asked. 

"Sensei, we kind of packed snacks--" 

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. "I haven't finished explaining, Nagisa-kun. There is more incentive than just food. The two who obtain the bells will pass, the one who fails will be sent back to the Academy." 

"So, only two will pass?" Nagisa asked with wide blue eyes. 

"Affirmative," Kakashi said, tying the two bells to his side before starting the timer. "The survival exercise will start...now!" 

He teleported away as the three of them were left standing on the empty expanse of the training fields. 

"He can probably hear us," Gakushuu said before turning to Nagisa, "Shiota, if my memory serves me correct, you scored high in English, right?" 

Nagisa nodded. 

"Good," Gakushuu said in a clipped, professional tone, "as far as we were able to gather, none of the inhabitants spoke a foreign language so this shall be to our advantage. We converse in only English now." 

All three immediately switched to a strange tongue as Kakashi observed them from a distance. He furrowed his eyebrows but remained hidden. 

"Peculiar," he mused. 

As if on sudden agreement, he saw the redhead, Karma Akabane slouch before waving off Gakushuu's remark. He quickly headed off in another direction, leaving his two teammates. "And here I thought that their teamwork might be a bit better than Team Seven's," Kakashi said, "I suppose that this is another failure added to the list." 

He pursued Karma into the woods, gauging his skill. The boy clearly knew he was being tailed but opted not to say anything. Kakashi simply followed him until the boy stopped in his tracks. "I confess," he said, "I didn't think you would outright single me out from the others, sensei. Why, I feel so honored--" The boy turned and all of the mischief melted away. Kakashi saw the slouch straightening and the head once lifted high in condescension was now lowered, eying his every move. 

The eyes unnerved him the most, the yellow irises almost like a bloodthirsty predator's. "I've always fancied killing myself a teacher," Karma murmured in a low voice, spinning a kunai in his one hand, "how about it, Kakashi sensei?" 

"You talk big for a brat, fresh-out of the Academy," Kakashi intoned as he took out his Icha Icha Paradise novel, "do your worst. I'll just be reading over here." 

Karma smirked as he made the hand signs that he had copied from some of the chunin he had stalked a couple months ago. If there was one benefit being in this shitty world, it was that it gave him the power of chakra. 

"Katon," he murmured, "Gokkayu no jutsu." 

He inhaled deeply before breathing out a large stream of chakra, fire blazing overhead as Kakashi jumped out of the way in time. "Not bad," he murmured, "but you aren't paying attention to your surroundings." 

Karma lurched when he felt a hand wrap around his ankle before dragging him into the depths of the ground. 

With just his head sticking out of the ground, Karma regarded the grey-haired ninja with a scowl. Or at least, he pretended to in order to keep up with appearances. 

"Hey, Kakashi sensei," Karma called, "you might want to practice what you preach." 

Kakashi turned lazily to face the boy. "And what would that be?"

Karma smirked, "Pay attention to your surroundings." 

Kakashi heard the jingling of the bells at his side before he lurched, seeing the small blue-haired boy who looked so unassuming and innocent from earlier. With one hand, Kakashi disarmed him before sending the boy flying backwards, hitting a tree and slumping to the ground. 

That was when the next attack came. Fast and precise kunai swipes forced him backwards as he saw the one he perceived as a bookworm from earlier actively fighting him. He was good too, almost too good. "I misjudged you, Asano-kun," he said, "to think that a little mathematician would be an active combatant." 

He grabbed the boy's offending wrist tightly, enough to leave bruise marks for the next day but the boy wasn't fazed in the least. Violet eyes now burned with intense concentration and confidence. It was as if he did not feel any pain. 

The boy was surprisingly strong too, not backing up. 

His teeth grit, Gakushuu fought a bit more against Kakashi's strength before dropping his kunai altogether. "Yield?" Kakashi asked. 

That was when he felt a kick to his ribs, his head whipping back to see Karama freed from the Earth jutsu. His brow furrowed. The boy he had flung away earlier--Nagisa--he must have freed him. So they had used teamwork after all--throwing him off with that strange code language of their's. A small smile took its place on Kakashi's lips. 

Karma grabbed him by his upper arms while Gakushuu pinned him down from below. Kakashi allowed them as he saw Nagisa approach, hands outstretched for the bells. Twisting the other way, Kakashi flung them aside before halting Nagisa's advance, grabbing the boy by his long hair. 

"You attack like the children you are," he said, noticing Nagisa going limp in his hold, "without strategy and thought. You want the bells--you need to come at me with the intention to kill." 

Karma stiffened. 

Kill. 

That word had a particular effect on Nagisa. 

Kakashi suddenly stiffened, feeling a paralyzing bloodlust attack him in waves. Looking down, he saw the small blue-haired boy looking at him with unnerving eyes. Kakashi's grip slackened despite himself. Nagisa approached, kunai outstretched before he dropped it. 

It was at that moment that Nagisa lunged, his two hands colliding with sudden force. 

Clap stunner. His trump card. 

Kakashi never experienced anything like this, as he fell backwards and was caught in their trap. Ropes wound around him tightly as a kunai pressed against his jugular. Kakashi blinked at the impressive form of Asano Gakushuu, with a bearing like a Hokage, as he said boldly, "We refuse the terms of your challenge. We will be a team together and we will become fully-fledged shinobi. Anything in our way will be terminated. You have only one option. Let us all pass or get a scar on your neck. Your choice."

Kakashi stared at the three of them, all smiling harmlessly like the way he had first met them. 

True and dangerous killers. 

Kakashi laughed softly before he released the bound kage bunshin and emerged from the darkness. 

Icha Icha Paradise was snapped closed as he regarded them over the spine. "Impressive," he said, "I accept your terms; all three of you pass." 

Three burning stares, anxious to prove themselves. 

And in the midst of those stares lay secrets that Kakashi knew he had to get to the bottom of.


	3. Once an Assassin, Always an Assassin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma celebrates his birthday. The team gets a new mission. Shit's about to go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so due to the overwhelming amount of comments and people who wanted me to continue this book, I decided to crawl out of the hellhole that is writer's block and attempt to continue writing this again. Assassination Classroom has always had a special place in my heart and I think I would regret it if I didn't try to finish this crossover. That being said, please enjoy this update. Thank you all so much for your support!

  
  
  
Trouble.

Karma Akabane knew he was the incarnation of it. Those who couldn't see it had to be blind; he could plainly see it should he just take a glancing look in the mirror. Everything from his slightly slouched posture, his disheveled red hair; the sharp feline shape of his eyes were all glaring facts pointing towards his misdemeanor. Karma's entire presence simply screamed mischievousness.

If he hadn't been smart as he is, he would have doubtless been sent to an institute for troubled children. As it stood, he stood a hair away from juvenile delinquency, the only reason being that the authority figures were never able to catch him at his deeds. Karma felt an unpleasant smile linger upon his face as he remembered the teacher who had failed him, who had sided with the good-for-nothing who had bullied an E-class student. The teacher was a hypocrite, one day, swindling him with sweet, caring words and the next, screaming at his face for disgracing him and threatening his position.

Karma tasted blood as he bit his lips, remembering when he was willing to go so far as to throw himself off a cliff in order to assassinate Korosensei. Extreme? Try crazy. Yes, he was undoubtedly crazy when he delved into that suicide mission. For once, his heart beat with a purpose: to kill his teacher, to finally become the perfect monster by killing another. And when the time came, he couldn't squeeze the trigger. That teacher had bested him at his own game.

He had taught Karma, had taught him the taste of burning, horrible defeat. He _wanted_ Karma, for _everybody_ in Class E, to kill him. And that made all the difference.

Yes, he earned the trust of the school misfits with just that. He _believed_ in them. He did nothing showy like risking his own life for them, after all, that was just part of the dry contract. No, he believed that they would kill him-- _them_ \--a class of good-for-nothings who had never been entrusted by anyone before. He never stopped asking them to kill him when it was perfectly laughable that a group of skinny middle-schoolers could ever take on a super-powered being fueled by antimatter.

He believed and taught them.

Then he died before anyone really noticed.

He died, just like any average human being. And that was when Karma had broken down, reduced to something as pathetic as tears. Because their sensei was not a monster, because he was _normal_. He was _human_.

He was human when he died.

It was more than Karma could bear.

Karma watched the civilians out of the corner of his eye, shoving his hands into his pockets roughly. Here, it was normal to be a juvenile delinquent. Here, it was normal to love violence. Here, he was nothing special.

Karma smiled blithely at the sight of Nagisa chattering happily to a storekeeper.

"How happy are you really, Nagisa," He thought, "I know better than to trust that smiling face of yours. Are you so miserable you could actually curl up and cry? Or are you truly content to be in a place where you can be the one thing you were ever really good at: assassination?"

Karma watched as Nagisa exited the store and happily trotted towards him, like an excited puppy running to its adoring master.

"Karma!" He exclaimed, "I got you your birthday present!"

The date clicked in Karma's mind. Ah, yes. December 25. His birthday.

At one point, it was his most hated day. Now, he was indifferent to it.

It had been several months since they have been accepted as genin. Now, they went on boring, useless missions of carrying groceries, babysitting spoiled brats, and picking potatoes for a landlord. Their most strenuous mission as of yet was finding a lost cat.

How sad.

Karma eyed the neatly wrapped package, complete with a red bow. He commended Nagisa on his choice of colors. Karma ripped apart the wrapping paper, crumpling the bright sheet into his left hand. He didn't know what to expect, perhaps a nice kunai or even a pair of fuzzy socks.

What he didn't expect was the item lying in his hands.

A coloring book.

Nagisa got him a fucking coloring book.

"It was Gakushuu's idea, but we both pitched in to get you this," Nagisa had the most innocent, shit-eating grin ever on his face, "He suggested you move on from your finger-painting phase and to explore the new world of coloring pencils. We both thought a coloring book would be best, considering you can't really draw that well--"

Karma's fist flew forwards but Nagisa blocked it, laughing brightly. Karma felt an unwilling smile crawl onto his face despite himself.

"You little shit," Karma grappled with him, finally catching him in a headlock, "I'll teach you to respect your elders."

"Ah--Karma, I can't breathe!"

"Serves you right for insulting my prodigious talent for the arts."

"Okay, fine, I take it back!" Nagisa flailed desperately, heaving for breath as fits of laughter overtook him, "You are a master....of _modern art_."

Dead silence.

"Nagisa, I'm going to fucking kill y--"

"Ahem."

The two were interrupted by a dry cough. Both Nagisa and Karma looked up to see a rather disgruntled-looking dog wearing a blue cape of sorts.

"Yo," The dog raised his paw and waved disinterestedly, "I'm Kakashi's summon. He wanted me to let you know that you guys will go on an important mission tomorrow. Be at the gate by five a.m. Don't be late."

With a poof of smoke, the ninken disappeared.

Karma slowly released Nagisa from his chokehold as the mood tensed a bit. Karma stared rather intensely at a pebble by Nagisa's foot while Nagisa searched Karma's face for any indication of anger.

"Don't give me that look, Nagisa," Karma's voice was lilted, "I never got along with that man."

"You don't even call him 'sensei,'" Nagisa said reprovingly, "It's been months and--"

"And what?" Karma's face was placid but the increasing acidity in his voice indicated the first cracks in that porcelain mask. He was not angry, Nagisa decided. He was bordering furious.

"He is not qualified to be a teacher," Karma gave a bitter little smile, "the only thing right about him is that he is called the Copycat Ninja. That's all that there is about him: a copycat, a fake. He only mimics being our sensei, even his surname pays respect to that. Kakashi, the scarecrow. _Friend-Killer Kakashi_. I did quite a bit of research on that man."

Nagisa flinched visibly. "Karma--" His eyes pleaded while his voice dipped into a low tone, "We can't make enemies with the person who is probably monitoring us the most. It's not wise--"

"If you want to play student to a teacher like that, you go do that, Nagisa," Karma dismissed, "I'm not going to."

The air suddenly chilled. Nagisa's smile dropped.

Karma never felt fear around Nagisa, perhaps that was what made him so uncomfortable of him in the first place. The fact that one would never even see it coming when Nagisa's blade would slit his neck. Now, he stood, distancing himself from his old friend.

"You're not being reasonable," Nagisa murmured.

"I'm not being reasonable?!" Karma practically exploded, "IT MAKES ME SICK to see you even respecting a piece of trash like that. I can forgive Asano, he never had Korosensei as a teacher, but you...oh, you, Nagisa...what excuse do you have?"

"So this is what it's all about?" Nagisa asked quietly, "I should have known."

"Stop treating me like I have the reasoning of a child, Nagisa," Karma sneered, "You and I both know how it ends for people who condescend to me."

"That's just it, you are a child," Nagisa's voice was pleasant but his eyes filtered through Karma's facade easily, "you are attaching yourself to someone who's already dead--"

Karma was tempted to take the bait, yes, he knew what Nagisa wanted to do. To let him rage and take out all of his anger upon him. Then feel the crippling regret afterwards and apologize for his actions. No, he wouldn't take it. Not this time.

"I saw you crying when Korosensei died," Nagisa whispered, "to think that the all-powerful Karma-kun would shed tears for a teacher--"

Karma's fingers reached for Nagisa's collar, making the journey half-way before he just barely managed to restrain himself. Nagisa was provoking him, trying to force him to move on from Korosensei. To just let the good memories remain.

No, Karma held onto the aching ones with a vengeance. He could never forget the pain, but he could forget all of the happiness. That was just who he was.

"Don't think this will work," Karma's voice shook with the effort to keep from screaming at his best friend.

"What will work?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Karma tightened his fist, "you haven't called me 'Karma-kun' in ages. You're just as angry, just as upset as me. You can't fuck with me and pretend that you don't actually care; that all he was was just a mission to you."

It took some time, but slowly, Nagisa's piercing look extinguished before his shoulders dropped.

"I'm sorry," He was the first to apologize, holding his hand out, "I shouldn't have tried to provoke you like that, Karma."

Karma bit his lip to keep from crying aloud with frustration. Swallowing back his hatred, he squeezed that small hand briefly, making direct eye contact with Nagisa.

"I can't forget him, Nagisa," His voice and hand was steady, "you know I can't. Korosensei owes me the life I tried to throw away. He died before repaying it...I can never forget him for that. This new 'sensei', he can't be trusted." Silence followed as Karma plunged on, "We both know what happened to his old team...What did he ever do to sooth the tension between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha? What did he do for Sakura Haruno when she was being left behind by her teammates? Where was he when his students needed him the most? Now, he is back to preach teamwork once more....the very man who killed his own teammate. People like him...people who just stand by and watch the bad things unfold....I can't forgive people like that. He doesn't care, not like Korosensei did. He can never be Korosensei."

Nagisa nodded. "I know, Karma, please believe me," He said, "Kakashi Hatake is a dangerous shinobi and there are no indications upon his file that we can trust him at all. While I can't trust him with our secrets, our true selves, what I do know is that he won't let us die. While you were trying your best to make his life a living hell, Karma, I was studying him. He sticks by his word, as hypocritical as he seems. He won't let us die."

"But will he let us live?" Karma murmured, "Tell me, Nagisa, in this age where it is natural for children to become killers, will we ever truly live? Innocent or guilty, we will be forced to kill. We don't get to choose who we kill, nor can we choose how and when we'll die. Kakashi Hatake is just another piece on the board. He is either our pawn or we are his. Right now, he's just an inconvenience. Just another step to climb over."

Nagisa gave him a sad smile. "You never know, he might just have a reason. A reason why he's called Friend-Killer Kakashi, a reason why he wears that mask of his, a reason why he's so distant; a reason why all of the things noted upon his file are the way they are."

"You have such sympathy for the man; I hope you haven't already forgotten Korosensei."

"How can I?" Nagisa's voice didn't tremble in the very least, "I was the one who killed our sensei."

 _Our sensei_. That word connected the two of them, so vastly different in looks and personality.

It was evident that Nagisa still struggled with Korosensei's death, with the fact that it was his hand that dealt the blow which killed him. Nagisa...the kindest person he ever knew...killed their teacher in cold blood. And now, was even putting on a show of smiles in public while Karma struggled to keep his composure.

Even Karma knew he overstepped the boundaries. "I'm sorry," He lowered his head, "I was being a dick."

"That you were," Nagisa added, cracking a forced smile.

"We're fucked up, Nagisa," Karma laughed, but the gesture didn't quite reach his eyes, "even here, we don't fit in. Two damaged goods in a shop of perfect weapons."

"A damaged knife is still a knife," Nagisa countered, "and we are assassins, we rely on more than one blade."

Karma returned the smile, slouching over the wall. "Well," He murmured, "We might put our skills to use after all. I don't think Karasuma was intending this when he trained us though..."  
  


———————-

The mission was supposed to be simple. A village in the Land of Tea had requested for their team to retrieve a prized artifact. When first confronted with the picture of the artifact, Karma blinked. It looked like a large treasure chest. Gleaming golden bolts and chains wrapped the smooth expanse of wood, carved with intricate designs. Karma thought he spotted the symbol of a whirlpool.

Why someone would pay so much money for a box, Karma would never understand, but he suspected it was what was inside that was important. Karma rolled his eyes. "Great deduction," He thought to himself, "no fucking shit, Sherlock."

"Karma," Nagisa elbowed him, "at least look like you are paying attention."

"Hmm?"

"Understood?" The lady Hokage asked. Karma watched on dully at the piles of paperwork stacked miles-high..

"Understood," Karma rubbed his eyes, yawning, while the other two chimed in sync.

Karma pretended not to notice Kakashi's disapproving look. The Hokage didn't give a disapproving look, she just outright glared at him. Karma yawned again.

Gakushuu's perfect, soldier-boy smile faltered.

Nagisa looked politely exasperated.

Kakashi and Karma had a brief battle of stares.

"You are dismissed," She leaned back in her chair, breaking the awkward silence with a curt order. Karma surveyed her, a slight smirk curling on his lip. He had heard tales of Lady Tsunade's temper. How it must tear at her to keep such a straight face..

"Yes, Lady Hokage," Everyone except Karma said obediently before they all filed out of the room.

The tension splintered on the way out of the door and it was only when the door closed behind them completely did it break like a dam.

"Someone needs to be taught a lesson in respect," Kakashi commented.

"Can't imagine who," Karma replied just as calmly.

"You got a problem with authority, Akabane?" Kakashi asked, his one eye noting how the boy's jaw seized just a bit at his honorific.

"No, sir."

"Good," Kakashi said crisply, his cold stare sending an unwilling chill down Karma's spine. "Then I expect all of you to perform decently on this mission. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Gather all of your ninja tools and supplies. We will meet in front of the gates in five."

"Five hours, you mean?" Karma muttered under his breath, only for Nagisa to step on his foot "accidentally."

"Fuck, Nagisa!"

"Inappropriate as ever, Akabane," Gakushuu shook his head, "consent is important in this day and age."

Karma bit back a retort to look at Gakushuu incredulously. "Did you just....make a joke?"

"Certainly not," Gakushuu looked as offended as he could, "the only thing remotely funny about this conversation is your statement on fucking Nagisa."

Nagisa turned beet red, clashing against his blue hair.

"Is this revenge for me dying your boxers pink?" Karma asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Gakushuu feigned ignorance, "I am beyond petty revenge."

Karma gave an odd cough that sounded similar to "sports festival."

Gakushuu threw him a dirty look and an even dirtier motion with his middle finger.

Karma just laughed.

After they had finished packing their belongings and gathering many lethal weapons of mass destruction, the three headed for the gate with raised chins and determined eyes. And of course, they were met with the sight of an absent Kakashi Hatake.

"I would say that I told you so, but that would be redundant," Karma commented."

"Maybe he got caught in some traffic?" Nagisa suggested.

Karma snorted, "Oh, yes, everyone gets caught in traffic in good old Konoha! Everyone totally owns their own car! Wait, no car, you say? How can this be? It's almost like cars _don't exist!"_

"You're being an ass," Gakushuu muttered.

"Am I now, Second-Place sa—"

" _Ma_ , sorry I'm late," A puff of smoke and Kakashi, in the flesh, materialized, clapping his hands together in faux cheer. "Well, well, look at you three with your determined, cute faces. Can't believe we're on our first C-rank already. Look at you three grow—"

Karma tapped his foot in an old, bastardized version of Morse code that he created with Nagisa and Gakushuu. He delicately spelled out P-R-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S.

Nagisa pretended not to notice while Gakushuu continued, A-S-S-H-O-L-E.

Nagisa shuddered. He didn't know what was more terrifying: a genial Kakashi Hatake or a Karma and a Gakushuu in agreement. After taking a sidelong glance at their murderous expressions when Kakashi condescendingly ruffled their hair, he quickly decided on the latter. 

"Right," Kakashi awkwardly removed his hand from their heads after a few prolonged seconds of glaring. "That being said, we should be getting on our way. I shouldn't have to warn you, however, to never underestimate a mission, no matter what rank it is. In fact, my previous team and I once went on a mistyped mission and--" 

"Yes, we know, we know," Karma sighed, "the mission at Wave Country, you don't need to tell us. It's practically legendary." 

"Now, I wouldn't say legendary--" Kakashi mused. 

"Sensei, with all due respect," Gakashuu shifted his pack, "we should be moving on in order to meet the schedule."

T-E-A-C-H-E-R-'-S- P-E-T Karma spelled with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Gakushuu had to restrain himself from judo-flipping Karma and then hitting him repeatedly in the face with his heavy backpack. He was going to get him back one day; there was no mistake about it. 

"You're quite right," Kakashi said approvingly, "then as you say, let us depart." The jonin turned his back to them and led them through the gates. Izumo and Kotetsu gave them the briefest of nods as they passed by. 

"Don't die, kids," Izumo said in the most detached voice Karma ever heard. 

"Yeah, Kakashi and his genin never go on regular missions.. _.ever_ ," Kotetsu yawned. 

Kakashi waved. " _Ma_ , that's just unfriendly." 

The trio behind him exchanged deadpanned looks. 

"We're so going to die," Karma muttered. 

"I don't care, as long as you're the first one to go," Gakushuu muttered. 

"What was that, Second-Place-san?" 

_"Why you_ \--" 

Nagisa shook his head good-naturedly, striding on. He continued to listen to the sounds of their bickering, which was lulling in its own weird way. It was crazy to admit it but they had all gotten more care-free in this strange world. Without the burden of school, crazy expectations, _crazy_ mothers...

_And Korosensei._

Nagisa smiled blithely towards the sun, shielding his face from its glare. 

He remembered that day in school when they were supposed to write their career-paths on that white slip of paper. 

_Assassin._

Teacher. 

_Assassin._

Teacher. 

_Assassin..._

_Nagisa remembered how the tip of his rubber knife flashed for the briefest second before plunging into his teacher's heart._

_Some things never do change...no matter which world he was in..._


	4. Violet Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma sniffs Gakushuu's hair. Nagisa is exasperated with the two of them. Kakashi reads his porn. A bit of angst here and there. What's new?

“Yugakure, huh?” Karma shifted his pack, rolling his aching shoulders, “I have to admit, I never expected a glorified mission to the hot springs. I could use a bath--” He swept his gaze over at Nagisa, who had bags under his eyes. Even Kakashi’s clothes were rumpled and dirty. Somehow only Asano looked clean and pristine, the only dignified out of all of them. Karma shook his head. Asano and his father seemed to transcend mortal limits. Perhaps some of the rumors that Asano was either a superhuman or an alien had some merit after all.

“Nagisa, you look dead on your feet,” Karma hunched over, “need me to take your pack?” “I’m fine, Karma,” Nagisa gave a little crinkle of his eyes. “Thanks for asking.”

“We can make a stop at an inn tonight,” Kakashi said, his voice slightly muffled through his mask. Karma sighed heavily. Days and nights of camping in the most humid places imaginable. Karma didn’t know if there was a single part of his body that hadn’t been attacked by mosquitos. His skin was practically crawling from all of the sweat and grime he had accumulated on this mission. Also, he was very thirsty and may have not taken in as much water as he should have.

Karma suddenly intruded on Asano’s precious personal space, leaning over to sniff the top of the strawberry blond’s head. Asano jerked back.

“What the fuck, Akabane?” He hissed, “did the mosquitos give you malaria or something?”

“Maybe,” Karma said, continuing to sniff Asano’s head, despite the latter trying to bat him away half-heartedly. “You smell like roses...is that normal?” Asano groaned, burying his head in his hands.

“Kakashi-sensei, Karma is being weird again.”

Kakashi hummed under his breath in acknowledgement. “Karma, as team leader, I will have to politely request you stop sniffing your teammate’s head. It’s indecent.”

“Says the guy reading porn,” Karma yawned, leaning his head against Asano’s shoulder.

“It’s not porn, it's _erotica._ ”

“Oh, apologies,” Karma threw his hands in the air, “Kami, you sound like my previous teacher.” In a quieter, more solemn voice, he murmured, “He would have liked Icha Icha Paradise.”

Kakashi wisely didn’t press the issue. “How long ago did your canteen run out, Akabane?” He asked calmly.

Karma yawned, “One hour? Two hours? A day? Who knows?”

Asano twisted his head to face his rival. “I told you to fill it up at the last stream, idiot,” He snapped.

“He’s right,” Nagisa chimed in, “you would be hopeless in Sunagakure, Karma.” Karma reached out to punch Nagisa, but only ended up tapping his face lightly.

“Wow, Nagisa, you’re super strong,” He slurred, leaning more heavily on Asano, “able to withstand one of my punches?” Nagisa sweatdropped, “You’re not exactly in prime shape, Karma. Why didn’t you tell us you ran out? I thought you still had water because you kept taking drinks from your canteen--”

“I was bluffing,” Karma yawned, “I ran out a long time ago. I just didn’t want to worry you guys--”

“Okay, he’s severely dehydrated,” Asano deadpanned before pulling on Kakashi’s sleeve. “Sensei? I think we may need to find an inn quicker than we thought.”

Kakashi hummed in assent. “Can he make one more mile?” Karma chuckled, “What do I look like to you? An invalid?” Karma promptly fell on his face barely a second later.

“Asano--why didn’t you catch him?” Nagisa wrung his hands, panicked, “he could have a concussion!”

Asano shrugged. “I thought he was bluffing again. How was I supposed to know?”

Nagisa sighed, drawing a hand over his face. “But Kakashi-sensei--”

“ _Ma,_ I thought he was bluffing too,” Kakashi casually flipped a page in his Icha Icha Paradise erotica-certainly-not-porn novel. “How was I supposed to know?” Nagisa deadpanned before crouching next to Karma, ignoring the intense burning in his thighs and calves. He popped off the top of his canteen before holding it near Karma’s face.

“Karma, I have a bit left. You can have the rest--” Karma didn’t respond. “Karma?” Nagisa poked at his side. He didn’t move. That worried Nagisa. Karma never did like anyone poking him in either the side or the back. Asano took the less-sensitive approach.

“Oy, Akabane,” He cuffed him in the leg with his sandal. “Are you dead? Does that mean I am forever free of that ridiculous moniker you keep giving me?”

Karma raised his head a centimeter from the dirt. He blinked blearily, slurring, “Did you say something, Second-Place san?” Asano promptly gained an irk mark before kicking Karma a lot less delicately in the side.

“I’m going to kill you, Akabane.” Karma chuckled before his face slammed back into the dirt again. Gakushuu sighed, “As much as I want to leave him for the vultures, he might be useful as bait later on. I’m afraid I cannot pass up that opportunity. Can you hold my pack, Nagisa?” Nagisa nodded, accepting the second burden. Gakushuu sighed before motioning for Nagisa to help him get Karma’s arms around his neck. He groaned. “Of course he’s heavy. Just my luck.”

Kakashi gave them a sidelong glance, “I can take him.”

“Like hell you are,” Gakushuu muttered, “he’s going to go batshit crazy when he figures out you gave him a piggyback ride. In case you haven’t noticed, he hates your guts.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Kakashi returned to his book as Nagisa sweatdropped. For a good ten minutes or so, Gakushuu bore his burden unflinchingly. However, it soon became clear that he was struggling when Nagisa bypassed his speed. Gakushuu started huffing, sweat dripping down his neck and arms. The once pristine Student Council President soon didn’t look so pristine now.

“I’m going to kill him, resurrect him, then kill him again.” He grit his teeth, “I swear I will. Screw teamwork.” Barely three minutes had passed until a loud “thump!” resounded behind them. Gakushuu had fallen on his face. Nagisa immediately rushed over to their side while Kakashi leisurely walked towards their prone forms.

 _“Ma, ma,_ and they were doing so well too. We only had a quarter mile left.” Nagisa sweatdropped.

“Was this one of your plans, Kakashi-sensei? To improve Asano and Karma’s teamwork?”

“I can still walk,” Came a muffled response from the dirt. It was Asano, who raised his head weakly, violet eyes however burning in indignation. “I don’t need any help.” Kakashi squatted next to him, looking at him unflinchingly in the eyes. Asano held his gaze defiantly, daring him to challenge him.

“You two are so alike, perhaps that’s why you get into so many fights,” Kakashi said flatly, “suck it up, being part of a team means receiving help too. You’re not a one man team, neither you nor Akabane. I cannot fathom how your Academy reports said that you two were the best leaders in your classroom. A leader isn’t devoid of weaknesses--”

 _“A weak leader,”_ Asano grit his teeth, a vein pulsing at his temple, “is _someone_ who has no business leading _anyone_ into the fray. If you can’t stand for yourself, no one will follow you.”

Kakashi sighed, murmuring in passing, “You would have been best friends with a certain Uchiha. I have to say I’m disappointed, Asano-kun.” Something snapped in Asano’s gaze at Kakashi’s words. He grit his jaw, something almost manic passing through his eyes. Then just as quickly, the light left and Asano slumped down, almost defeated-looking.

 _“Disappointed_ , huh?” Asano chuckled a bit, though his voice faltered, “as if I give a damn about your _disappointment_.”

Nagisa observed all of this, worry clouding his brow. His fist clenched silently. He knew those eyes...the way it flickered like an extinguished flame.

_“I always longed for a little girl, Nagisa.”_

_“Why are you so stupid? Why couldn’t you have been better?”_

“AFTER ALL I’VE SACRIFICED FOR YOU! YOU UNGRATEFUL, STUPID, WORTHLESS--”

Nagisa shook his head several times to dislodge those thoughts from his mind. It wouldn’t help anyone to dwell on the past. _Though…_ He glanced worriedly down at Asano. His eyelids fluttered weakly. Nagisa snuck a glance at Kakashi, who was observing this exchange with a single, toneless grey eye. Something flickered behind their sensei’s eye. Just as when Nagisa believed Kakashi would press after the issue, who wordlessly dropped to his knees and gathered both boys--one in each arm before slinging them each on a different shoulder. As if they weighed nothing at all, Kakashi nonchalantly picked them up and stood up. He gave a little eye-smile towards Nagisa.

“Well, Nagisa, we’re almost there. Just hold on.”

Both Nagisa and Kakashi pretended not to notice as Asano pressed his arm to his eyes, shaking silently.

________________

Nagisa felt the inexplicable joy as he set down the two packs, his back and shoulders screaming in elation. This was freedom at last. The old woman who ran the inn was kind enough to give them such comforts for a discount as well--something about how her husband was saved by Konoha shinobi. Nagisa slumped down tiredly on the tatami floor. Kakashi silently set down both Karma and Asano. Karma was still out for the count, chest rising and falling calmly. Asano was determinedly hiding his face from them, arms crossed. Nagisa saw how those violet eyes burned with fire.

“We’re not done talking,” Kakashi said simply, tucking away his Icha Icha Paradise book. “I don’t know what you have been through Asano,” He was wise this time not to put the _‘kun’_ at the end, “but you must know that on a mission, a shinobi leaves all of his emotions on the threshold. However--” Nagisa looked up in surprise. “--I know that’s simply not possible,” Kakashi murmured, “we’re human, not tools. It’s natural to feel such things. But you must be honest--if not to your teammates, then at least to yourself.”

Asano turned his head at this, meeting Kakashi’s heavy gaze head-on.

“The mission is all that matters. Who cares what I have to go through as long as I _achieve_ \--”

_Smack!_

Nagisa did not flinch, Kakashi had moved far too fast. Asano’s head turned from the impact of the blow. Listlessly, he turned his head slowly back. His cheek throbbed in agony but he could care less.

His little twelve-year old self...close to his original age when he left his world and entered this one….yet Asano himself was now almost double that age. His twelve-year old self was not equipped to deal with the emotions of an adult.

Kakashi was composed as can be, his lazy grey eye fixed on Asano’s form.

“Get up.”

Asano grit his teeth.

“Sensei--” Nagisa pleaded, tugging on his sleeve, “he collapsed a while ago--”

“Are you deaf?” Kakashi asked coolly, “I said get up.”

Asano braced his feet against the floor, all joints screaming in pain as he barely wobbled to his feet. The second he got up, though, Kakashi’s foot kicked against his hell, flooring him immediately.

Asano grit his jaw in fury.

“What was that for?"

“Get up,” Kakashi repeated, calm as can be. “What’s wrong, not as strong as you claim to be?”

“Sensei,” Nagisa tried to intervene.

“Shut up, Nagisa,” Asano snapped, eyes burning, “I can do this by myself.”

Asano felt every muscle scream in protest as he got to his knees. As hard as he could, he pushed against the floor and stood up, straight and proud. This was discipline, after all. He could take it. His knees shook underneath him. Kakashi kicked against his leg and Asano could barely resist it before falling on his face.

“Get up.”

_“Get up.”_

He got up again and again, only to be kicked down. No matter how he tried to block, it didn’t matter. Kakashi was stronger, Kakashi was faster; Kakashi was better. “Get up,” Kakashi said for what seemed like the thousandth time. Gakushuu couldn’t move. But somehow, he forced himself all the same. Again, he felt the world tip from underneath him as he landed on his back.

“Get up.”

“Get up.”

“Do you hear me?”

_“My, my, you’re not all you’re cracked up to be, are you?”_

“Get up.”

_“You are the student I’ve taught the longest, Asano-kun. I expect nothing but the best from you.”_

“Get up.”

_“Why are you such a disappointment? Tell me, Asano-kun. Why aren’t you burning with fury at this failure? Do you truly want to win?”_

“Get up.”

 _“I will be teaching A-Class from now on. You’re not needed here, Asano-kun.”_ Asano lost all feeling in his tightly-wound jaw, in his limbs.

“Get up.” Kakashi was looking down at him, wearing the Principal’s face. Or was it the face of his father? He lost track at this point.

“Get u--”

_“Don’t speak of Ikeda. You’re not half of what he was--” “_

_You’re weak. Not fit to be a leader, Asano-kun--”_

“SHUT UP!” Asano slapped away Kakashi’s hand with as much force as he could muster, eyes wide and body shaking like a leaf. “I KNOW I’M NOT LIKE YOU, I NEVER WAS!” He screamed desperately, his voice scraping against his dry throat painfully. “HOW COULD I FORGET? YOU TOLD ME EVERY SINGLE DAMN DAY!”

Kakashi looked stunned at this sudden outburst.

“What are you--”

“I KNOW I WAS NEVER ENOUGH!” He broke down, slamming his forehead against the floor. Blood welled from the scratches on his head, “I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU! FORCED MYSELF ON EVEN THOUGH I THOUGHT I MIGHT DIE FROM IT ALL! YOU TAUGHT ME TO BE STRONG... _so why_ …” His voice just as quickly grew hollow, quiet, _“so why._..why would you never _look_ at me? Was...was it because I wasn’t Ikeda? Even when I tried so hard to be...I picked up basketball just for you, dad, I never even liked the sport..” Gakushuu raised his eyes, seeing Kakashi wearing the infuriating smirk of the Principal’s, violet eyes so similar to his burning through his mind. How could he forget?

His voice grew more subdued as he continued, hardly seeing what was in front of him this whole time. “If you wanted the perfect student... why bother having a son? I tried so hard...but it didn’t matter in the end, did it? I wonder...are you happy that I’m gone now? Are you finally smiling?”

“Asano,” Nagisa murmured quietly, “you need to rest. That’s not your father, that’s Kakashi-sensei.”

Asano rested his throbbing head on the mat. He was crying; his father was right. He always was. Why was he so damn weak? He would never have cried in the other world...was this just all a punishment for his weakness?

“You’re not real,” He murmured, “none of you are. But if this is a dream...why do none of you bastards ever go away?”

__________________

When Asano had sufficiently calmed down, Nagisa and Kakashi fell to the task of tending to both Karma and him. Clean bandages replaced the soiled ones and cold water was administered. Despite the previous outbursts, the two of them were sleeping peacefully.

Just as Nagisa was about to wrap up, Kakashi placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“You have five minutes to begin explaining just what happened here.” Nagisa tensed slightly but continued twisting the dripping wet rag, the plinks of water droplets against the metal basin soothing to his ears.

“What do you mean?”

“Out of the three of them, you are by far the best liar,” Kakashi noted, “exceptional in a way different from those two. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Nagisa’s voice switched just as quickly into a cool, emotionless tone. “What do you want to know?”

“Three orphans,” Kakashi mused, “bonded together...all three exceptional, heads and shoulders above their clan-raised classmates. Oddly enough, having no documented past or affiliation with the village. Passed off as irrelevant…” Kakashi stared down at Nagisa with a cold grey eye, reminding Nagisa yet again why he was so renowned among all Five Great Nations. The Great Kakashi of the Sharingan.

“I have been patient as long as I could,” He said, “but it’s time you tell me the truth. Who are you three?”

Nagisa’s shoulders seized for the briefest moment before relaxing just as quickly. He defaulted back to his assassin’s mask, a slight smile tugging playfully on his lips.

“We’re just three orphans playing at being shinobi, Kakashi-sensei,” He tilted his head and smiled with his eyes. His heartbeat did not quicken in the least.

Kakashi sighed, a small, wry chuckle accompanying it. “So it’s going to be like that?”

“Going to be like what?”

Kakashi stood up, strolling leisurely towards the window, the other hand snapping open Icha Icha Paradise.

“You know...I’m starting to think you weren’t lying the first day I met you. You really aren’t from around here, are you?” Nagisa’s polite smile froze. “You know, I thought you three were just messing around with me,” He chuckled briefly, “but who would have thought? Once you cross off all of the probable possibilities, you’re only left with improbable. And you have no choice but to accept the improbable as truth. You have to look _underneath_ the underneath.”

“Sensei?” Nagisa questioned in a low voice.

Slowly, Kakashi pivoted on his heel to face the blue-haired assassin. His one grey eye regarded him coolly over the spine of his book.

“Tell me, which world are you from?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! A lot of angst, but it's only the beginning. To be honest, all three of them have their fair share of unpleasant childhoods and Gakushuu's is just breaching the surface. Dysfunctional Team Nine after all. 
> 
> I know the three of them would be far more composed in real life but I thought it would be interesting to broach the emotional aspect since they went through their childhood two times now. I thought they would be more sensitive too now that the pressures of their old war (cough cough parents) are no longer here. Emotional baggage is definitely a thing and we're definitely just scratching the surface here. 
> 
> And yes, I left off on a cliffhanger, how evil of me. 
> 
> Stay tuned...XD


	5. Father's Favorite Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asano does some soul-searching. Nagisa helps him. Kakashi finally accepts the inevitable.

Kakashi was deathly calm as he leveled his disciple with a long, firm look. 

"I will repeat myself one more time. Which world are you three from?" 

Nagisa's shoulders shook, not from fear, though he _should._ He instead found himself chuckling silently, an all too-different sound than his ears were used to. But he couldn't help it. It was so incredibly _funny._ Their farce-- broken just like a simple mirage. Infamous ninja or no, they had crept under the very noses of the Village authority without someone so much as blinking in their way. Either Kakashi was just extremely observant or the Leaf Village was hilariously incompetent. 

"I'll bite," Nagisa almost didn't recognize his own voice, bitter as it was, "how did you figure it all out?" 

Kakashi blinked slowly with his lone grey eye. "I was worried you started laughing because I got it all wrong," Kakashi admitted, "but now I have to wonder, Nagisa-kun. Are you actually batshit crazy? Or am I actually right with this ridiculous assumption?" 

Nagisa sobered a bit at the question, glancing up at his sensei. "I could be crazy," He weighed in thoughtfully, "it's not completely out of question. That being said, I could have lied to you and gotten away with it yet again, but I have a feeling that there is no point to it anymore." Nagisa spread his arms invitingly, eyes darkened to pools of deadly, unpredictable blue. "What do you want?" 

Kakashi was taken aback, once again by that bloodlust that had caught him off guard during the bell test. Kakashi tested his shoulder, rolling it around experimentally. 

"Who said I wanted anything?" He asked objectively. 

Nagisa let out a cold laugh, so unlike the meek blue-haired genin trailing by his teammate's heels. But after all, wasn't this his strength? Nobody ever suspected him--poor, innocent Nagisa who drove a knife into his own sensei's heart... 

"How much for your silence?" Nagisa half-wondered, "but you're undoubtedly loyal..." His fingers twitched minutely for the kunai in his pouch, "I _could_ kill you, but that is out of the question. You are heads and shoulders over my league. I _could_ kill my teammates and have you dishonored and reinstated as Friend-Killer Kakashi yet again--" 

Kakashi's grey eye followed Nagisa's movements as he flicked his kunai out. There was no amusement in Nagisa's eyes. 

"But you figured that out too, sensei," Nagisa murmured, "you're too clever to be ensnared by such a pathetic ruse. I don't even think you'll flinch if I slit Asano's throat." 

Kakashi briefly flinched at that. It was so slight, barely perceptible, but it existed. And Nagisa saw it all. 

"Do I unnerve you, sensei?" Nagisa tilted his head to the side, blue hair drifting across predatory eyes, "shall I tell you a little secret? One that can be kept between us?" 

On the surface, Nagisa was fearless and cold, like a glacier slowly melting in the sun--about to roil and become an avalanche in the blink of a second--burying everything underneath him. Then, the smooth smile gracefully tilted the ends of his lips. "In our world, I killed my own sensei." 

Kakashi visibly started at that. 

Nagisa played with the tip of his kunai, eying the glinting end critically. "And in the end...it was so easy. I cried, of course, cried buckets upon buckets of tears. But after all of the media died down, and the press grew silent...I somehow knew...that if I ever were to do the same thing again, I could do it better. I would not cry next time. I would _perfect_ my assassination. And the thing is, I knew instinctively that Korosensei would have been proud of me either way. He was just like that, you know?" Nagisa half-shrugged his thin, deceptive shoulders. "He was to me what Minato Namikaze was to you." 

Kakashi did not take his gaze off of him for one second. Nagisa stood up, eying the slumbering forms of his teammates. 

"You preach teamwork, sensei," Nagisa addressed him, unfailingly polite, "and I will be honest, for them, I will do anything. I get attached too quickly, it's a fault of mine, I admit. I even tried to save my disaster of a sensei from blowing up the Earth in its entirety, you know...I'm just that kind of person. The cold steel of Uchiha Sasuke as my exterior, cradling Naruto Uzumaki's idealistic views." 

"So let me just tell you this--" Nagisa now faced him, blue eyes burning with bloodlust, regret, and protectiveness all at once. "I can give you the answers you desire, but only at a steep price. You won't get it any other way--torture me, put me under the Sharingan's influence...it all matters not. I won't succumb to any of your tactics because I cannot afford to. Not when my teammates' lives hang in the balance--" He shot an unmistakably fond look at Asano and Karma. "Those two plunge on relentlessly forwards and I content myself staring at their backs, watching them move forwards...if only if it means that I can protect them from any enemy who would try to stab them in their backs." 

He leveled Kakashi's own stern gaze right back at him. 

"So, what will it be Kakashi-sensei? Will you hear my terms? Or will this end in bloodshed?" 

______________________

Asano woke up to a splitting headache. He tried to move his fingers, only to find that they were numb and unyielding. Blearily, he blinked open one eye. There was a crack running through his window of vision. 

His throat felt horribly dry, his tongue like rough sandpaper. "W-water--" He croaked and deliciously cool water was put to his lips. Asano couldn't help the delighted sigh that fell off his lips before he met Nagisa's concerned blue eyes. 

"Shiota?" He winced at the hoarseness of his own voice, "what happened?" 

"Kakashi knows," Nagisa said nonchalantly. 

Asano lost all semblance of reason. His mind just blipped. "What?" By some miracle, he kept his voice deathly calm. 

"I told him everything," Nagisa shrugged aimlessly, "he pieced together most of it anyway." 

"How?" Asano demanded before he met Nagisa's steady blue gaze. He groaned, "Fine then, never mind how. What the fuck are we going to do now?" 

Nagisa hummed under his breath. Asano was almost 100% sure that he picked up that particular habit from Kakashi. He really didn't know what to feel about that. 

"God, Nagisa," Asano wanted to slam his forehead through Kakashi's Dōton jutsu. What. The. Actual. Fuck. 

"He's on our side for the time being," Nagisa filled in helpfully, just when he was on the verge of gaining yet another aneurism from the clusterfucks named Shiota Nagisa and Akabane Karma. Asano then suddenly remembered his own mental breakdown. Guess that made him a clusterfuck too. Go figure. 

"What do you mean 'for the time being?'" Asano narrowed his eyes. 

"Meaning that he can be depended on not to slit out throats while we're sleeping," Nagisa said way too calmly, "I have his word that he won't breach this subject to the Village. He will reassess once both you and Karma are in fighting condition and will probably interrogate you two further." 

"Great," Asano groaned, "just what I needed." His mind then clicked together all of the missing pieces. "Hold on, Nagisa, how exactly did you get him to agree to these ridiculous terms that do not benefit him at all?" 

Nagisa smiled a bit. It was a dangerous smile, sharp with an assassin's edge. "I can be persuasive when need be." 

Asano stared at him flatly. "Of course, what do I expect?" He muttered under his breath about crazy assassins and how his father was such a colossal fuck-up with his one and only school. 

Nagisa couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. A bit of tension left Asano's aching shoulders. 

Then there it was. That infuriating bridge of silence. 

"You saw it, I suppose?" Asano asked blankly, "me breaking down on our sensei?" 

"I did," Nagisa replied, right on beat as always. He surveyed Asano with a calm, utterly detached look. "Want to talk about it?" 

Asano laughed darkly. "I suppose I'm in quite the predicament, huh? Perfect student council president throwing a temper tantrum like some _child_ \--" 

"You are a child," Nagisa pointed out softly, shifting closer to Asano. 

Gakushuu sighed.

How did it ever get to this? 

He was supposed to be _untouchable._

Relentless. Charismatic. Intelligent to a fault. 

He failed at all three of these qualities tonight. He could only imagine the slow curve of his father's smirk and those infuriating violet eyes...his carbon copy and worst nightmare. His own personal nemesis. 

Of course, it hadn't been easy for Asano Gakuho to suddenly whip out the perfect student--the perfect boy with perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect athleticism; perfect leadership in one night. Rome was not built in a day. But Asano Gakusho built it faster and with a far more brutal foundation than anyone could have been capable of. 

His father didn't need to hit him. He only needed to use words. Words coupled with carried-out actions. Well-placed threats, veiled as saccharine kindness. Gakushuu's home became a classroom. And his father's office was a place where he must always...always step on fine shards of glass. 

Asano Gakusho had dealt his cards carefully. He was never the abuser. Simply the enforcer. 

Gakushuu was never the victim. His weakness made him one. This all would never have happened if he was stronger, smarter, _better_. 

It was a blatant lie, of course. But so brilliantly crafted because in some aspects, it was the gleaming truth. If Asano hadn't been so weak, he never would have been put-down in such a way. If he had been better, he could have stopped those childish tears and those heart-wrenching sobs that reached every heart except the one it was directed towards. He could have protected himself had he been stronger. But no, he was weak. And the weak were fodder. Fodder for the strong. 

But even as he felt himself grow stronger, he didn't get a single acknowledgement from his father. At first it stung, then slowly, he found himself not needing it at all. Soon, he became first place just for the sake of it. Because he couldn't afford to be anything else. Because that was now hammered in to become his identity. 

Asano Gakushuu was supposed to be the perfect class president. The perfect student. But now, the cracks were starting to show. Because one cannot run from his true nature after all. He may have perfected the mask but his old, weak, childish self still reached for some warm memory of his father. If only to prove that it was never abandoned. That his father was just doing this for Gakushuu's own good. But that illusion had shattered all too long ago. 

And Asano had finally found the truth then, in those incriminating amethyst eyes. 

He wasn't Ikeda. His crime was not his weakness. His crime was his birth. 

And despite everything, he had felt so much relief. Because it wasn't for a lack of effort that was wanting...it was for something that was beyond his reach, beyond his control. And he was so relieved, he could have cried at that moment. 

Because there was nothing more he could do. 

Gakushuu shielded his eyes yet again with his arms, feeling the familiar lump in his throat along with the burning sting of tears. Why the fuck was he crying again? As if sobbing in front of his sensei wasn't enough--

"You're allowed to cry, you know," Nagisa had opted for a cross-legged position next to him, eyes contemplating, "I do it all the time. Crying." 

Asano raised his eyes to meet Nagisa's. And for the briefest second, the assassin and the class president felt something like understanding flicker between the two of them. It was in their eyes. They could recognize that familiar shuttered-gaze from a mile away. 

"I have nothing to cry about," Asano said with a fierceness he didn't think himself capable of, "it's all in the past now. It doesn't matter." He said it in such a determined way, it almost took Nagisa's breath away. 

Nagisa chuckled mirthlessly. "Your stubbornness reminds me of your father...did you know he tried to bomb the old school along with himself just to prove a point?" 

Asano blinked. Clearly, he hadn't heard. 

"Why am I not surprised?" He rolled his eyes, but Nagisa caught a hint of dark amusement dancing on his lips, "he was always the extreme out of the two of us. Always could be counted on to have the last laugh." 

Nagisa stared at him before asking, "You sound fond of your father when you say it that way." 

"I respect opponents who can prove their mettle," Asano replied, never breaking eye contact with the bluenette, "and that includes suicide-driven bombing excuses for a father." 

The two of them both stared at each other. A long, flat silence. Then the silence broke as Asano was the one to laugh before Nagisa joined in, clutching his stomach. When their churning laughter faded, they both gazed at each other in contemplative silence once more. 

"God, he's _fucked_ up," Asano laughed, not without some stray tears dripping down his cheeks, "but I guess I am too. Like father, like son." 

"You're not like him," Nagisa murmured, tucking his legs under him, "even despite all of your hatred towards us. You saw your class being tortured, being pushed to the brink of disaster and you bowed your head to us. I never respected you more in that moment." 

A small smile quirked on Asano's lips. "I wasn't left with many options." 

"You're not your father," Nagisa reaffirmed, "you have similarities to him, but that's only to be expected. You're blood, after all. But at your core, you are not as cold-blooded as you think you are." 

Asano raised his gaze, eyebrow raised. "And what's your reasoning for that?" 

Nagisa smiled. "You took my advice." 

Asano frowned, clearly not comprehending. 

Nagisa reached out to brush the remnants of a tear off his chin. 

"You cried." 

___________________

Kakashi, of course, eavesdropped on their conversation like the good shinobi he was. And by the frequent, pointed glares at the sliding door, Nagisa Shiota knew he was too. 

After hearing Asano's confession, he felt he knew just a bit more of his elusive, put-together student. He frowned. So a controlling father with Machiavellian tendencies...no wonder why that burning amethyst gaze was so intimidating during the bell test. Kakashi's mind flashed back to his previous conversation with the blue-haired assassin. How he had convinced him. How he had persuaded him to temporarily go against all of Konoha's standard procedures. 

A smile quirked humorlessly on his lips as he remembered. 

_ Kakashi turned his head to face the blue-haired assassin. A chill of killing intent went down his spine. Nagisa’s eyes grew hard and cold, more like chips of ice embedded in a sculpture.  _

_ “I’m making the gamble to trust you...but should you betray that trust or hurt either Asano or Karma...I don’t care how long it takes, I will kill you.”  _

_ Kakashi stiffened despite himself. Nagisa stared straight back, unflinchingly. The killing intent he emitted was unnerving.  _

_Was it ridiculous to feel intimidated by a twelve-year old? Kakashi only knew too well that age was not a factor in gauging a shinobi’s ability. Nagisa would make good on that promise; he was sure of it_. 

Kakashi shook himself out of his reverie and probed for the chakra of the blue-haired Nagisa. Seemingly ordinary, but at its core, Kakashi felt something cold and slimy, slithering in the shadows and waiting for the perfect chance to spring. The only other person he felt that much killing intent was from... 

Kakashi shook his head. No, he wasn't going to go there. 

Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling decades older, as he saw Nagisa say something to Asano in a calm, soothing voice. 

These kids were going to be the death of him.

Kakashi clenched his fist. His priority may be to extract information from them, but...

Kakashi had been in ANBU long enough and had been good enough at his job to keep his emotions in check. He was told by many that he was far too good at this part of the job, but--

Slowly, Kakashi let out the exhale he had been holding in for so long. 

_Asano just had to look up at him with his tear-stained face and frightened eyes. Those horrified sobs. Nagisa just had to threaten him with eyes so cruel, yet so brimming with self-loathing and regret when he spoke of his former teacher. And Karma just had to worm himself into it all--irritating him beyond disbelief and goading him into a fight at every turn...yet just as quickly turn to Nagisa and Asano to check to see if they were just okay...._

_God damn it._

_He was getting concerned. Far too concerned about some genin brats..._

Kakashi then felt his heart throb dully as he remembered his former Team Seven. Three faces. 

He had failed them, all three of them. Three consecutive times. 

Kakashi inhaled sharply this time, eying his white-knuckled grip on the door. 

_Never again._

_Not another Rin. Not another Obito. Not another Minato._

_Not another fractured team._

_He was through with losing people because of his own incompetence. No more._

Kakashi narrowed his eye. It was too late. 

He was getting far too attached and he knew from personal experience.

_Attachments came at a steep price._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I'm surprised people aren't asking this question...  
> But how exactly did this trio escape from their world into a completely different universe? Is it just fan fiction convenience or magic? Or could it be possible that our favorite trio cannot remember the events leading up to their transfer to another world? 
> 
> XD Stay tuned and like always, don't be afraid to let me know you think :D


	6. Boiling Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma talks with Kakashi. They find the wooden box that is their mission. Enemy shinobi are a pain in the ass.

Karma thought it was best to keep his eyes shut during the duration that Asano was practically spilling all of his life's secrets to the cinnamon roll, Nagisa. Granted, a very deadly cinnamon roll that would not hesitate to slit your throat but a cinnamon roll nonetheless. Was this just the dehydration talking? Karma almost couldn't tell his thought processes apart from each other anymore. 

There was something awful about growing up twice, cycling back to a childhood where he _should_ be able to depend on past memories, only to find that they weren't there at all. Because no one from his past, except Nagisa and Asano were here. He was a child but at the same time he wasn't. For all intents and purposes, he should be 25-26 years old or so. And yet, he hadn't been able to grab ahold of those experiences which _should_ have made him smarter, more mature; more of everything. It was like his body was nothing but a memento book, filled with memories that have no application in this world. 

And it wasn't like he used the free time for some stupid introspection either. What was the point of that? Some facts didn't change. Like the fact that his parents preferred vacationing around in all of those exotic places instead of staying a damn second longer in their original house. Or the fact that Nagisa's mom was a bitch and Nagisa could not convince him otherwise. Or the fact that, now he heard Asano talk of his father, the ex-Principal sounded like a bitch too, so Karma added him right along on his bitch-list. 

Karma wanted to sigh miserably as Asano was very clearly sobbing next to him. The quiet kind. 

They may be in their twenties or so by some twisted logic but how could it matter? They _felt_ like kids. Back when they were vulnerable. Of course this was triggering all of these annoying emotions. 

All of them wore a mask, to protect, to infiltrate. They toughened over time, but only because time progressed and the world would move on whether they followed or not. They toughened up because they had no choice. The weak are meat and the strong eat. They didn't want to be eaten so they took the painful steps to harden their hearts. 

But now, time cycled backwards because _fuck_ , the world just hated them enough to do so. 

And so the masks began to splinter, the well-placed deceptive smiles started to waver, and the strength they prided themselves so much was beginning to crumble. Because they were back where they started. They were back to crying and being all sorts of weak.

And perhaps the biggest reason: the very things that started their tears weren't here. 

Even in another world, the past haunted them. Even when they were in a completely different universe, those memories continued to fuck them over. Because instead of a hope for a new beginning, they continued to cycle aimlessly back into a past which did not exist. 

And the thought came back. 

Maybe they weren't strong after all. Maybe this was all a lie. Maybe the things they knew for so long weren't the truth after all. 

Maybe everything they knew was wrong and all of the things they never let themselves feel were the ones in the right. 

Yeah, now he felt like he wanted to cry. Stupid fucking little toddler hormones messing up everything. 

The Asano Gakushuu he knew was the perfect golden-boy, the very model of an upstanding citizen and a role model. He was an opponent Karma hated and respected in equal value. He wasn't supposed to be human, as stupid as it sounded. He was someone above it all. Above his father's cold teachings. Above the system. And when he had bowed to them, above his pride. 

Karma almost wanted to wring his neck and shake him violently by the shoulders at the same time. 

_Who gave him permission to fucking cry? To break down in front of them like this?_

And the small, hateful voice in the back of Karma's mind whispered. 

_Who gave him the right to be anything more than a perfect 100 on an exam paper?_

This wasn't them. 

Whatever this was. They couldn't be these twelve-year old toddlers killing for a military dictatorship. 

This was _wrong_. 

They needed to go back to that world that was shitty in its own regard. Back to the bitch-list parents. Back to their friends. Back to the world where Koro...where Koro-sensei was dead and gone. Because as shitty a world as it was, it was a world that Karma _knew_. 

He was being selfish, but screw it all. He was always selfish, always bad, always so cruel. And the teachers reciprocated it in kind. Even when he saved that E-class student, he was just being a horrible delinquent with no regard for authority. He was bad no matter what he did. _That_ would _never_ change. 

Karma waited until the lamps were extinguished and Nagisa rolled over on his mattress, right next to Asano. For some reason, that irked him but he let it slide. Karma waited until their breathing stabilized, until Asano too no longer shook like a leaf. Karma's eyes opened and he took in their surroundings. Nagisa was definitely asleep--he had been on enough camping trips with him to know. Asano was just passed out at this point. 

Silently, stealthily, Karma rolled out of his mattress and padded over to the sliding doors. 

He needed a goddamn walk. He was going to go crazy in this regretful, suicidal atmosphere. 

But of course, his shitty luck just had to kick its boot up his ass. Just as he slid open the door, he found Kakashi Hatake leaning against the door, porn book open as always. 

Karma couldn't bother anymore. This man already knew their secrets. He was through being respectful (though his definition of respect was admittedly different from everyone else's). 

"What the fuck," He said flatly, "were you watching us sleep? That's creepy." 

Kakashi didn't reply to his taunt, only snapped his book shut and fixed him with a long, unnerving look with his one eye. 

"Take a walk with me, Akabane." 

"Shit," Karma laughed, "don't tell me you're giving me one of those redemption speeches or worse, trying to wheedle more information out of us. It won't work." 

Kakashi lifted his eyebrow. "And why not?" 

"I read your file," Karma said easily, "breaking into T&I took some work but worth it. You may be ANBU captain and perhaps the fearsome Friend-Killer Kakashi, but I'm just crazy enough not to tell you anything just out of spite." 

Kakashi hummed in acknowledgement. "I suppose you're right. But that was not why I was planning on taking a stroll with you." 

Karma unwittingly let himself fall into the trap. 

"What?" He asked, a bit flabbergasted, "don't tell me you want to walk with me just for the sake of it. You're not sentimental." 

"How would you know?" Kakashi asked easily, "out of the three of them, you hate me the most. I just want to know why." 

"So you want us to get to know each other?" Karma asked, thoroughly unimpressed, "did I give the impression that I _wanted_ to know you, Hatake?"

"I let you address me disrespectfully for one reason and one reason only, Akabane," Kakashi's voice turned positively icy and Karma flinched despite himself. "I wanted to know if I was deserving of your hatred. So tell me now. Or is your reason as pathetic as your reasoning?" 

Karma grit his jaw. "I don't owe you a reason." 

"No, you don't," Kakashi agreed, "but for the sake of team cohesion, for the sake of better communication so that whatever may come, I can help you three survive through it all, I am willing to put down my pride. Are you?" 

The question hit Karma squarely in the chest. "Are you suggesting that I don't care for my teammates?" His voice turned pleasantly dangerous. 

"I don't know where you get the word _suggest_ Akabane," Kakashi replied, eyes revealing the bitterness coursing underneath, "I thought I was being remarkably clear with my words." 

Perhaps that was the final straw because all Karma could see was red when he lunged at Kakashi, without his usual tact or strategy. Just a blind mess of thrashing limbs and furious heart. It ended just as his logical side predicted. Kakashi twisted his arm behind his back, enough to hear something crack, but Karma couldn't care less. He practically lived on the streets. He had a remarkably higher pain tolerance compared to the other two. 

Kakashi noticed this as he slammed Karma against the wooden floor. He felt bile rise in his throat. 

"Happy?" He asked bitterly, "you beat me. Are you happy?" 

"Is everything a fight with you, Akabane?" The words were calm and lacking emotion. 

"You tell me." 

Karma felt Kakashi's grip tighten, enough to bruise for next two or three days. 

"Oh, you think you're so _clever_ , aren't you?" Kakashi pressed his knee against Karma's lower back, "I've taught your kind, Akabane. I've served under your kind of people and _killed_ people just like you without batting an eye." 

Karma shuddered at that, feeling revulsion crawl under his skin. He began to test the man's grip, but Kakashi predictably didn't let go. 

"Let me tell you a little secret, Akabane," Kakashi said mirthlessly, "I don't know what your old world is like but for now, you are in our world, for better or worse. Put your head on straight. You're not the only genius, nor will you ever be. There are people both stupid and smart out here but all of that doesn't matter. You know why?" 

Karma didn't answer. 

"A kunai across the jugular means death no matter who its gripped by," Kakashi said coldly, "you keep underestimating, you keep trying to distance yourself from reality--you'll get _cut_ right out of it. And the world _will_ go on, Akabane, with or without you. Accept it or don't." 

And just like that, Kakashi released him. 

Karma wanted to retch, wanted to scream until his vocal cords tore out of his throat, but he just lay there, mute. 

"Talk to me or don't," Kakashi said coldly, "but you talk to your teammates. Whatever you are going through, whatever existential crisis you're stuck in, you _talk_. They deserve to know. Am I understood?" 

Karma shut his eyes. 

He heard silence then a heavy sigh. Kakashi's footsteps faded in the corridor. A door slid behind him. 

"Damn it," Karma whispered, screwing his eyes painfully shut as they stung, " _damn it_." 

___________________

The next morning, Karma avoided Kakashi's gaze like the plague. 

_Talk to your teammates._

Karma wanted to laugh. As if he was someone who could just let everything loose and talk about his feelings. This wasn't a soap opera, for Kami sake. 

Nagisa seemed to have adjusted pretty well. That morning, he handed a filled canteen to Karma with a small smirk, which earned him a blow upside the head. 

"You sniffed Asano's head," Nagisa reminded helpfully, "you said he smelled like roses." 

"Yeah, yeah," Karma grumbled, "as if you don't do that." 

Nagisa laughed at that, like the twinkling of small bells or birdsong. 

God, he was just precious. 

Asano had thankfully recovered. With his ninja gear and not a single strand of hair out of place, he looked like his usual perfect self. 

Karma was inwardly relieved. He also noticed that Asano avoided Kakashi's gaze at first before he snuck a look at their jonin sensei. 

And to Karma's utter surprise, Asano bowed his head for the second time in his life. 

"We apologize for our subterfuge," Asano murmured, "we didn't know who to trust but Nagisa has assured me that you are dependable. We will try to answer any questions you may have. But before that, I'm curious. How did you figure it all out?" The violet eyes glistened with curiosity. 

Kakashi continued reading his porn book, replying idly, "You left some tells. I have to admit, I took your performance in the classroom as a joke. But while seals aren't my area of expertise, I knew someone who was a master." 

"Jiraiya," Asano frowned, surprised, "Minato Namikaze's teacher. But that means you had to memorize all of it and--" 

Kakashi smiled a bit. "And you know my moniker, don't you?" 

Asano cursed. Vividly. Karma choked. 

"Of course," His brow furrowed as he deadpanned, "you just had to have a dōjutsu in one eye."

Karma scoffed. 

"You couldn't have possibly suspected us since then," He murmured, "you would have booted us immediately to T&I had you known." 

"True," Kakashi inclined his head, "there was the issue of your orphanage records as well." 

Nagisa stiffened at that. 

"Not much is known about you three other than the single line that read you were here since birth," Kakashi replied, "and yet, all three of you have clear years of trauma stemming from abuse of some kind. While our orphanage system is far from ideal, I cannot imagine you three to be sitting ducks, watching each other getting abused." 

"Years of trauma but no source," Asano concluded, "I see. The only other explanation would be that our parental figures snuck across the border daily to dish out punishments to us. And that is very unlikely." Karma was surprised to find Asano's voice smooth and steady. There seemed to be some kind of respect in Asano's eyes. "DNA Test?" He asked. 

"None in the village," Kakashi replied lightly, "and of course, there was the final metaphorical nail in the coffin, so as to speak." 

Kakashi pulled out a very ordinary looking coloring book. "It's cute to put highly explosive seals on it," Kakashi said in amusement, "but my sensei wouldn't let us graduate until we knew how to disarm all of the practicals." He threw the book at Karma's irate face. 

"It was a good cover," Kakashi commented, "Karma set himself up in the years at the Academy as a finger painting enthusiast so nobody would suspect your projects being in this particular book." 

Karma flinched at Asano's raised eyebrow. "You had one job, Akabane," Asano hissed, "just the one." 

Karma rolled his eyes. "Run me by that again, Second-Place?" 

Apparently sensing yet another fight, Nagisa broke in, "So what do you want to know, Kakashi-sensei? How can we convince you not to turn this case over to the Village?" 

Kakashi was silent for a moment before speaking. "Let's get this mission done first. The mission takes precedence." 

And so, they agreed, Asano's brain whirring madly to try to figure out some kind of strategy to use against their sensei. 

It was easily a very humid, very excruciating walk to The Village Hidden in Hot Water. And an even greater walk to the specific temple, where they had to collect the wooden chest. Karma still wondered what would be inside. 

Gold? Jewels? 

Kakashi simply unfurled a scroll when they arrived at the place. The temple was old, its structure nearly caving in on itself. Intricate stonework indicated of ages bygone while a few precious relics lay here and there, highlighting the faded paints and wood. Karma could see hint of gold on the musty tapestries. 

"Are we allowed to see what's in it?" He asked despite himself. 

"It's a treasure chest, Akabane," Asano deadpanned, "probably something with a lot of value is inside. Our client probably doesn't want anyone to touch it." 

"It's a simple delivery mission," Kakashi agreed, "we can just seal it and go--" 

Suddenly, every nerve in Kakashi's body tensed. The trio must have evidently sensed it, as all three reached for the kunai in their holster. 

"Good reflexes," Kakashi noted to himself in slight pride. 

"Strategy, sensei?" It was Asano who took charge, looking up to him for his directions. 

That was when the temple exploded. 

__________________________

Grime and dust became a second skin as Karma reached for the treasure chest and swiftly reached for his cloak. "Cloak, Nagisa, Asano!" He hissed as they automatically obeyed. Grabbing the three cloths, he tied them ruthlessly through the metal hooks before lashing them under his armpits and around his biceps. He lifted the chest as he would a backpack before the barrage of shuriken came in his direction. The chest was surprisingly light as he deflected the metal weapons and somersaulted backwards. 

He felt the "thump" of the wooden box meeting Nagisa's back, as the latter gave him an affirmative nod. 

_Nagisa had his back._

Karma quickly spied Kakashi battling three shinobi at the same time. Despite the situation, Karma couldn't help but stare. He fought with grace and speed, efficiently dispatching the limbs and crippling them. Blood spurted into the air, much like a show of red ribbons. 

Meanwhile, Asano was taking on a shinobi more than three times his size. Karma felt grudging respect as Asano dodged lightly on his feet. Asano had only shown a bit of his prowess during the pole-toppling tournament, that was for sure. Strategy, bargaining, and adrenaline: that was how he operated. 

There was a brief moment of inattention, then Asano seized his chance. Using the enemy shinobi's sword as a springboard, he launched himself onto his shoulders. Karma was about to step forwards when the shinobi grasped Asano by the ankles, but he had it covered. Criss-crossing his knees, Asano locked the shinobi's neck with his legs before slamming his palm down over his forehead. 

Black markings appeared over the shinobi's neck and arms. 

"Paralysis seal," Asano helpfully explained as he clambered off the enemy ninja. The look in those violet eyes made Karma's gut churn.

"How long--" 

"Took me a few weeks," Asano shrugged, "the hardest part was applying it in life-death situations." Asano spoke as if he hadn't just used a B-rank fuinjutsu despite having been a genin for just over a month. 

Unbelievable. 

That was when Asano pulled out his kunai, and as the Academy taught, slashed his knife against the ninja's jugular. 

Blood spurted but Asano narrowly avoided it by jumping back a few paces. There was no trace of remorse in his eyes. 

And as if their luck couldn't get any better, Karma noticed the roof shaking from above them. He flared his chakra. About fifteen to twenty enemy shinobi. 

"Shit." 

And Asano and Nagisa couldn't agree more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In regards to the last question I posted, damn, you guys catch on quick. I won't exactly let is slip which hypothesis is right but your ideas are all valid. But enough of the angst I have been piling on--though there will be plenty of time for that in the future.   
> This is when the plot will begin to pick up. I will try to lengthen my relatively short chapters as well.   
> Just hold on for the rollercoaster shit-fest cuz it's about to get big.


	7. File #1: Assassination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asano Gakuho reflects on his actions. Irina Jelavic reflects on kicking ass. Someone is going to get murdered.

Asano Gakuho was seated at his desk, a footage playing in front of the screen and a scotch held loosely in his left hand. He didn't make a habit of drinking. If he could recall, the last time he did, it was after Ikeda's death. The pain had been too fresh and his mind far too weak. He had learned now. Learned that he was only as weak as he allowed himself to be. 

It got him this far. 

_Allowed to punish the men who killed his student._

_Allowed to extort money from the government._

_Allowed to make his perfect school system._

PowerpowerpowerpowerweakweakweakwhywhyGakushuu--

Gakuho sighed, pressing his thumb against his throbbing temple. Placing his scotch back on his desk, he replayed the footage. 

The same video that he played over and over again. Memorized every detail. Every. Single. One. 

He saw Gakushuu sitting on the edge of the bridge. The security camera had only been able to focus on his back, but Gakuho could imagine the quiet, contemplative look in his eyes. He knew that bridge. It was the exact same bridge where Ikeda committed suicide.

Gakuho watched, almost unflinchingly, as Gakushuu finally stood up and surveyed the water below. Quiet, contemplative. As if wondering how many ripples he'd make if he just fell forwards. The result was the same each time Gakuho played the clip. 

Gakushuu spreading his arms, a bit of childish idealism perhaps, before plunging forwards. The camera filming a now empty spot on the bridge. 

Nothing. 

No suicide note. Nothing to be left behind. 

No words to berate the father he hated. 

And that was the missing puzzle piece. 

Because the Asano Gakushuu he knew would have fought back, would never have committed suicide. The boy may have had his flaws, was far from perfect, but his pride wouldn't allow for something so pathetic. 

_He wouldn't have just died on him._

Gakuho replayed the footage, feeling his eyes blur from how many times he viewed it. 

The result was the same, wasn't it? 

Asano Gakushuu was gone. 

But there was no body. 

________________________

Irina Jelavic fumed. 

No, scratch that, she was pissed. Furious. Someone was going to die today. 

So with little regard for her partner's wellbeing, she banged open the door to his office. Karasuma hadn't jolted (that fucking square, of course he didn't) and simply looked up at her with a questioning lift of his brow. 

"Can I help you?" 

"Karma and Nagisa were killed." 

That was when she had Karasuma's full, undivided attention. The man's crow eyes glanced over to her rumpled attire and her trembling fist. 

"How do you know?" He asked quietly. "Irina, it's not fair to make assumptions. We saw them during graduation--it hasn't even been 24 hours yet. We have people running searches, they will find them. They are on the government's watchlist after all." 

"I know, Karasuma!" She wanted to scream at him, to shake him by the shoulders because just how stupid did he think she was? She was a notorious honeypot--she only acted stupid so she could get the better of someone. She was sick, sick and tired of Karasuma treating her like a fucking _child._

_But yelling at him wouldn't help her. Wouldn't help Karma or Nagisa._

She swallowed back her rage and frustration. In a quiet, more calm tone, she murmured, "You saw the files I sent you. I know you did. I sent them more than a few hours ago. So why am I hearing that you're not doing anything about this?" 

"You're confused, Irina," Karasuma said quietly, "it must have been a glitch. We weren't the only ones who saw them--" 

Irina held up a hand and he immediately fell silent. Dangerous blue eyes narrowed. "I _know_ what I saw. I don't know how the hell you can't put two and two together, Karasuma, but believe me when I tell you that I would never lie about something as dire as this. You're in denial and I'm sorry I can't help you out of it." 

Karasuma sighed heavily and upon seeing the stress that lined his forehead, Irina almost felt sorry for him. _Almost_. 

"It's not _plausible_ , Irina," He buried his face in his hands, groaning, "no one is going to send a team on half-based assumptions and the word of a--" 

"The word of a what?" Irina asked, cold and quiet.

Karasuma must have noticed his mistake, but he kept his mouth sealed shut. 

The two partners regarded each other. 

"The word of an assassin?" Irina laughed mirthlessly, reaching over to place her red-painted nails on Karasuma's desk. "Oh, Karasuma, darling, you always lacked tact with words." Karasuma held his ground as the blonde assassin reached over for his tie and adjusted it calmly. Karasuma knew better. She wanted to wring his neck with it. 

"Well," Irina composed herself, lips curving upwards into a half-smile and her bag slung over her shoulder, "this _assassin_ sees that the situation is hopeless to a T. Goodbye, Karasuma." 

Irina was never the type to doubt herself. Once she made a decision, she would _always_ follow through. And if that decision didn't work, screw that, it was time for a Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan Z until she got what she wanted. 

"Where are you going?" Karasuma asked, deadly calm. Oh, he was definitely angry. 

Irina chuckled a bit, turning on her heel to face the composed yet furious face of her former partner. "Oh, Karasuma, haven't you learned? You never ask an assassin where her next location will be." 

"This is not under your jurisdiction," Karasuma said carefully, "you will not have my support on this. The government will not back you up." 

"Fuck the government," Irina almost wanted a camera to snapshot the moment when Karasuma's jaw dropped, just a fraction. "Nobody hurts my kids." She cast a look that was positively frigid towards the piles of files on his desk. "You better get started on your paperwork, Karasuma. Heaven knows that that is far more important than a couple of E-Class runts." 

With those biting words, she slammed his office door closed and ignored the looks she attracted. "What are you all looking at?" She snapped waspishly and they immediately returned to their work. Irina brushed the hair out of her face before checking to see the cameras. 

Without hesitation, Irina quickly disposed of her government-issued phone before pulling out her safe one. She quickly dialed a number. 

"учитель?" She asked, heels clicking away on the floor. 

She heard Lovro's sigh from the other end. "What do you want, Irina?" 

"I want you to pull up all of the information on dead or missing cases from the last 24 hours. The government only has the documented ones, but I want the ones from the underworld as well." 

"Do I even want to know?" Lovro asked dryly, "and why do you presume I will help you? You are a government employee, Irina." 

"Oh, because your blue-haired protege was killed and I think I know just the person who did it." 

There was a silence from the other end. 

She smiled wickedly. She had his attention. 

"Meet me at our usual place." 

He hung up and Irina snapped her phone closed. 

Icy blue eyes filled with fire, she pushed past the employees and made it through the door. 

Nobody messed with her students and got away with it. 

_Nobody_. 

____________________________

The footage played again. 

The scotch had long since gone, along with the rest of its supply. 

Asano Gakuho rested his head in his hands. 

_"Don't speak of Ikeda. You're not half of what he was."_

The words burned, churning low in his gut and forcing bile to rise in the back of his throat. 

Asano Gakuho replayed the footage. 

He saw without actually seeing. Every single detail. What was he missing? There was something missing; he just knew it. 

His head ached again and Asano Gakuho unconsciously dropped his gaze to the thick book in front of him. 

Every single memory. Every single photo. From when Gakushuu was born until now...before he disappeared. 

Asano Gakusho looked down at the photo of him and his son, side by side. How long had it been? Seven? Eight years ago? 

They were sporting identical goofy grins, an ice-cream cone held in each hand. 

Over the years, their pictures together had become sparse, but there were moments when both Gakushuu and he were required to take pictures together. The orientation was one of them. The Student Council events were another matter altogether. 

Asano Gakuho ran his hand over the pages. Each photo dated, signed, and placed meticulously in its sleeve. 

There was a knock on the door.

"Sir?"

The door cracked open a fraction. The butler said softly, "Is it alright if I retire for the night? Is there anything you require my assistance with?" 

Asano Gakuho shook his head and donned a polite smile. "That will be all. Thank you for your hard work." 

The butler bowed and shut the door silently behind him. 

The house had always been quiet, even with Gakushuu in it. 

Now, it was hollow. 

Asano Gakuho didn't tolerate weakness. Not from anyone, and certainly not from his son. 

The strong preyed on the weak.

That was just how it was. 

Maybe that was why he didn't even allow his shoulders to shake when a few tears slipped down his face and stained his paperwork. 

No evidence of weakness. 

And no evidence of Gakushuu. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know a lot of you must be wondering what is happening back in the Assassination Classroom universe, and fear not, I have not abandoned it. Therefore, I took the initiative to tell the story from both sides. While these may seem like fillers, I am actually going to progress the plot from both universes as well as doing a lot of character exploration and development from both sides. I asked you guys the question of how and why they got into another universe and the peeps from the Assassination Classroom side are going to be the ones figuring it out with you guys, step by step.   
> But anyways, let's review.   
> It was a bit difficult writing about Asano Gakuho because I could by no means imagine him as a weepy, remorseful father considering all of the things he has done up to this point. That being said, I do intend on developing him along with Gakushuu as they deal with their separation from each other. Will they ever be reunited? Who knows? Oh wait, I know. (Looks around anxiously at murderous readers)   
> I also wanted to make Irina a main player and here is my unpopular opinion: I really never shipped her with Karasuma. I also don't intend on this being a romance either so I wouldn't worry about shipping her with anyone else, but I just didn't see the chemistry. And let's be honest, with someone of her traumatic background, I don't think Karasuma can exactly deliver on the emotional aspect since he's so tied to his job. I was also a bit miffed at how the anime didn't really explore more of her skill set as an assassin and I really wanted to let her grow to her full potential.   
> So stay tuned until next time guys--so far I'm on a roll updating and hopefully I can get a good chunk of this done since my schedule is so sporadic.


	8. Serpentine Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our badass trio decapitates a few shinobi. Nothing new. Karma finds out what's in the box.

When the roof crumbled from above, Karma didn't even flinch when a few pieces of debris hit him against the face and shoulders. Thankfully, Nagisa had immediately vaulted into a series of flips, gracefully dodging the falling rocks. Asano, meanwhile, had been unceremoniously grabbed by the scruff by Kakashi, yanked away just in time before a transformed rock pike nearly decapitated him. 

"Regroup!' Kakashi shouted over the din. 

Karma felt Nagisa's fingers dig into his bicep with a quiet, hidden strength before they both leapt towards Kakashi and Asano. 

The twenty shinobi quickly circled around them, binding them tightly inside a loop. Karma squared his shoulders, glaring back, but couldn't contain the shiver down his spine. This was beyond trying to infiltrate a government base or trying to kill a superhuman capable of destroying the world. This was far more personal. Karma could sense the bloodlust and the quiet resolve these shinobi had. Nothing would make them happier than being able to kill a few kids. 

"Yugakure isn't supposed to be a shinobi village," Nagisa murmured, flipping out his other kunai. "They disabled the system decades ago." 

"Well it clearly isn't so disabled now," Asano replied, mirroring Nagisa's action, except pulling out a handful of shuriken. "We need a strategy. Sensei?" 

Karma shot Kakashi a look from his peripheral vision, keeping his eye trained on the shinobi before him. 

"What is your intent?" Kakashi asked. His voice was slow and steady, betraying nothing. 

"Of course," Karma thought, near hysterically, "he's one of the best killers around. Seriously, why do me and Nagisa keep getting the homicidal ones?"

"The box," The shinobi with tied back hair pointed with his kunai at Karma, "give it to us." 

"Even if we did, we would have no guarantee that you will spare our lives," Kakashi pointed out lightly, "you aren't Yugakure shinobi, are you? Probably hired mercenaries." 

That was when the leader of the group laughed. It was a chilling, ominous sound. Karma saw Asano blanch for a moment before just as quickly, regaining his composure. Karma steadied his stance. Out of all four of them, Asano had the least experience with danger after all. It was to be expected. 

Karma then remembered how he had slashed the ninja's throat and shrugged. He would probably get used to it. 

"Half-right, half-wrong," The man chuckled, "how disappointing. This is your death, Konoha nin. Since I'm so generous, I'll even let you say farewell to your cute little students." 

Karma bristled slightly, only to have Nagisa bump his shoulder in warning. The message was clear. Keep your head. 

" _Ma, ma_ , now that's not really going to work for me, is it?" Kakashi said lightly, "it'd be a shame if my cute genin died on their first C-Rank." Karma spied Kakashi lifting up his hitai-ate a fraction, revealing an eye spinning in vermillion and ink, three tomoe spiraling outwards. 

Realization seemed to dawn on the enemy shinobi and Karma watched in shock as the surrounding circle backed off, if only a little. Twenty enemy shinobi recoiled at the sight of the Sharingan. 

_"You...you.."_ Words failed the leader. 

"Me, me," Kakashi replied calmly and Karma felt grudging respect despite himself. The man had balls of steel, if anything at all. 

" _Sharingan no Kakashi,_ " The leader had finally recovered, throwing back his head, and now laughing. "I have never thought I'd see the day to view the legend himself. But I'm afraid you're outnumbered, Kakashi-san." 

Kakashi's ordinary eye glinted at the challenge. Turning his gaze, he fixed his students with a stern look. "I want you three to take care of the stragglers." 

They nodded and Karma noted how Nagisa stepped backwards to guard his back while Asano moved forwards diagonally from Karma. 

"Well?" The leader laughed, "done saying farewell to your gen-- _fguhughhh_ \--" It had all happened so quickly. When Karma had blinked, Kakashi had already driven his lightning-charged fist into the leader's chest. The man blanched, blood dribbling from his lips, while his subordinates took another step backwards in horror. Karma didn't even have time to retch at the sight of purple veins and bloodshot eyes. 

Everything went to shit in the next second. 

Karma was vaguely able to keep up with Kakashi's movements as he slashed and spun, stabbed and disemboweled the enemy shinobi with his lightning jutsu. There was the sound of chirping of a thousand birds ringing through his ears. Meanwhile, Nagisa had taken full advantage that his height and spindly frame granted him. The underestimating shinobi who pinned him down as an was target promptly earned a kunai to the knee before a sweeping kick to the back of his neck. Three shinobi had somehow escaped the carnage and were now eying them, much like predators watching their prey. 

Karma gripped his kunai in a white-knuckled grip. "Split up?" He suggested. 

"One each, you do the math," Asano replied humorlessly. 

Karma grinned. "Whatever floats your boat, Second-Place san." 

The three genin then pounced on their predators. 

Karma made sure not to leave his teammates out of his line of sight as he engaged his enemy. Slashing and dodging was no different from those exercises that Karasuma had drilled into them, though, admittedly, he had the aid of chakra now. Their kunai grated against each other in a clash of blue sparks and steel. Karma could tell his opinion upped him on experience, though, Karma's smaller stature allowed him more wiggle room. He could use that to his advantage. 

Nagisa was the first of them to kill his enemy. 

A quick underhanded tactic involving a smoke bomb and ninja wire was all Nagisa needed before he stabbed the kunai, handle-deep, through the man's esophagus. He choked on his blood before sliding to the ground, blood thick and sloshing on the ground. 

Karma could sense his opponent getting tired of using taijutsu and if the rage in his face wasn't evident, he was getting heated that he couldn't kill Karma with minimal effort. 

Karma dodged the kunai to his ribs before seeing the man make swift hand seals. 

"Suiton: Water Dragon jutsu!" Karma's eyes widened before he launched himself backwards in a desperate attempt to put some space between them. Karma watched the water pool into a dragon, rearing its blue head, yellow eyes flashing. Karma sped through the hand seals. 

"Katon: Great Fireball jutsu!" 

In a nick of time, his fireball crashed against the water dragon. However, he must have not put substantial chakra through, as he felt the water douse him from head to toe. A thin mist rolled through the temple.

Karma kept his cool, eyes focused on his surroundings. 

_There!_

Karma deflected the barrage of shuriken, threading some ninja wire through it. He kept his hand perfectly still despite his body screaming at him to fight. 

This wasn't like any of his street brawls. This was a different universe altogether. Hasty action could get him killed. 

Just as the man stretched his hand outwards to throttle him, Karma yanked back the string, pulling it toward the man's head. The enemy shinobi had a split second to react and barely dodged the shuriken. But a moment of distraction was all that Karma needed. 

Karma moved and plunged his kunai into the man's side with so much force that he felt his ribs crack. The man was somehow still standing and had grabbed Karma by his throat. Karma moved by instinct, pulsing thick chakra into his hands and forearms. That was when the man exploded from the chakra overload, guts flying and blood staining Karma's entire front. He tasted blood and nearly retched but held it in by sheer force of will. 

Karma removed the kunai to see his arms coated in the viscous substance. The kunai clattered to the ground. He felt sick. 

He admitted he sometimes went overboard in his fights back in their universe. But _never_ had he let it go this far. 

It all happened too quickly. Karma had heard the scream of, _"Karma!"_ unmistakably from Asano before he felt an overwhelming force shove into his side. All he could register was that Asano's opponent had kicked Asano away before tackling him to the ground. Karma's head felt fuzzy and his vision began to bounce around like little toy marbles. 

From the corner of his vision, he saw Asano being intercepted by another enemy shinobi. Karma saw red, whether from the enemy or Asano, he knew not. 

"This is the end of the line," He heard the gruff voice of his captor. 

Karma's fingers curled around the box he was using as a backpack. 

The man's kunai dipped into his vision. 

_One...Two..._

Karma relaxed before surging his body upwards, his limbs thrusting up in all the wrong directions. The sudden, brisk motion threw off the shinobi. Without needing to think, Karma swung the treasure chest so that it connected with the shinobi's head. The bolts and locks and cut into his face, blood flying on the walls, before Karma efficiently pulsed chakra to his arm muscles. Karma swung it again, a deadly arc of wood and iron, putting his shoulder into it. 

The locks burst open from the excessive force, splinters of wood grazing his exposed skin, but the deed was done. The man's skull was cracked open, his head completely crushed. Karma didn't feel anything this time, only a worrying apathy, then a bit of relief that he wasn't dead. 

From the corner of his vision, he saw Nagisa and Asano working together to defeat their opponent. Karma's knees wobbled and he was forced to crouch down again. 

_The box!_

Karma's eyes flew open as he remembered, frantically inspecting the wooden chest. 

It was, as he had expected, damaged extensively. Some of the iron locks were busted open and the wood carved out in places, marked by kunai and shuriken. Karma's hand froze as it swept across the top. 

He saw what he saw. 

It was for a brief moment but he saw an eyeball. 

It blinked at him from under the torn wood. 

Karma knew it wasn't wise. He knew he shouldn't jeopardize the mission. 

But he was also a creature of id, a child of instinct. And so, he palmed his kunai and bursting chakra to his hand, sliced off the metal locks and popped open the trunk. 

Karma's mercury eyes widened. The fighting seemed to dim around him, drowned out by white noise. 

Because inside the wooden chest was a bound figure, wrapped in chains and seals, blinking up at him with wide lilac eyes. 

It was a little girl. 

_________________________

"What do we do now?" Asano folded his arms, leveling Kakashi with a stern look.

All 20+ shinobi had been dealt with and it sufficed to say that no one was going to make a journey up the mountains and pray in this temple anytime soon. Kakashi noted how each shinobi was killed and what techniques were used by his genin. They were truly a formidable trio. Kakashi noticed the clean way the kunai was slashed across the artery. Definitely cleaner than one of Team Seven's missions. 

And they looked relatively unharmed as well. 

_"Well?"_ Asano demanded. 

Sometimes, Kakashi had to wonder who exactly was the "sensei" at times. 

Kakashi shifted his eye towards their young charge, who was draped by one of Nagisa's extra cloaks. The boy had foresight, that was for sure. 

Kakashi crouched next to the young girl, trying to better discern her features. Pale violet eyes blinked up at him, framed by the palest white hair. For all intents and purposes, the young girl's eyes were woefully apathetic. She simply blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side. 

"Can you speak?" Kakashi asked, crinkling his eye in a friendly smile, "my name is Hatake Kakashi. What is yours?" 

The girl whispered something. 

"Sorry?" Kakashi asked. 

"No..name.." She murmured, pausing with a frown, "wasn't given one." 

Kakashi exchanged a look with Asano. "We better get going," He eased himself back up, "I'll carry, uh..." He gazed at the girl contemplatively. 

"Aguri," Nagisa suggested quietly and was met with a raised eyebrow from Asano and a terse nod from Karma. 

Kakashi knew better than to question his dimension-hopping students. "Alright," He bent down again, "we will call you Aguri until we complete our mission. From then, your name can be whatever you please." Aguri nodded hesitantly before reaching out to loop her arms around Kakashi's neck. 

"Promise? No more bad men?" She asked in a tiny voice. 

Karma saw something seize in their sensei's jaw--so imperceptible that it was hardly noticeable--but Karma saw the angered flash in the man's eyes.

"No more bad men," Kakashi promised. Turning to his students, he gave them a once-over for any stray injuries. "This is beyond any C-Rank. There's a high chance the Land of Tea requested this mission, knowing full-well the dangers. We will regroup as far away from this temple as possible and I will send a messenger hawk to the Hokage." 

Three nods, one from each of his students, and they were off. 

________________________

Karma would never admit it to his blue-haired friend, but he was grateful Nagisa took the initiative to fill his water canteen. He took small sips, enough to keep going and not keel over with an upset stomach. Karasuma's survival trainings were far more extensive than the ones in the Academy and he was silently grateful for the stoic military man. Initially, he thought that Asano would have some trouble, given that the perfect Student Council president was quite the bookworm but he was doing surprisingly well. 

When Karma had questioned him on this, the strawberry-blonde simply shrugged and said that his father would sometimes lock him out of the house when he was younger so that he could learn to fend for himself. Karma just raised his eyebrow, but Asano seemed fine with it all. Even going so far as saying that it was "enlightening." There were many mysteries in the world but Karma knew that Asano's father was yet another special case. 

Karma was sure he wasn't the only one who wanted to drop dead until Kakashi finally made the signal to set up camp. All three genin could no longer feel their legs and wanted to dive into their sleeping rolls and never wake up. However, as Kakashi seemed intent on reminding them, they had responsibilities and it was with a heavy heart that Karma left to collect firewood. 

The firewood was, in fact, more so for Aguri than them. Karma had seen how thin she was, how her ribs poked from underneath her skin. Dangerous thoughts leaked into his mind. Thoughts of torture, thoughts of killing the men who would do such a thing. But wasn't he being a hypocrite? He killed more than a few people today after all. Karma shook those disturbing thoughts from his mind, banishing them to the dark recesses in the back. 

When he returned with the firewood, he lit a small, hasty Katon jutsu to set it aflame and instantly, all of them relaxed and bathed in its warmth. 

Karma leaned back, eyes closed, as he felt the cool night breeze ruffle against his skin and hair. He could almost imagine those days at Kunigaoka, where he was accompanied by no one but himself and a strawberry milk carton on the rooftop or at the satellite campus. 

It had been nice. 

Karma cracked open one eye to see Kakashi keeping a close watch on Aguri, while gently probing her with questions. Nagisa was setting to the task of sharpening everyone's kunai and shuriken until they became razor-sharp. Asano was, surprisingly, cooking some stew with some ingredients he had stashed inside a scroll. 

(Since when did the bastard become so good at fuinjutsu?) 

All three of them pitched in their work and research, learned as much as they could about the obscure art, but Karma couldn't find it in himself to be studying it for fun or otherwise. It wasn't the logistics that bothered him so much as its ridiculous organization. There was almost no wiggle room for creativity, no room to breathe, in such a study. Karma always hated being bound by the rules, after all. 

Karma sent a searching look towards Aguri. In the short time they had been together, they found out some unsettling details about Yugakure. Specifically, about what seemed like a gigantic cult who worshipped some bloodthirsty deity. Apparently this organization had ties to numerous criminal organizations and was ruling large chunks of Yugakure in the shadows.

Karma curled his lip in disdain. 

Aguri was an experiment. An orphaned child, who was wiped to a clean slate, before being subjected to unethical experimentation. Just the thought itself made him think of Itona, of Korosensei; of the wicked scientist, Yanigasawa. 

"The people in the Land of Tea were probably extensions of the criminal underworld," Karma said to no one in particular, as the fire crackled in the background, "we can't take her there." 

"I had no intention of doing so." To his credit, Kakashi did not flinch at the accusatory glare that Karma had previously shot him. "We are going to take her to Konoha." 

"Oh, yes," Karma felt everything roiling up yet again--Korosensei, Kakashi's piercing grey eye; Asano's vulnerability--and strike its ugly head. "I'm sure Konoha is just the place. It's not like we have a secret underground organization--" 

A kunai whizzed past his face, nicking his ear. 

Karma didn't waste any time, flicking out his kunai in retaliation. Kakashi was notoriously calm as he leveled Karma with a cold look. 

"Just _what_ do you know about it?" He asked. 

Karma felt too angry to care that he was confronting a ninja of Kakashi's caliber. "It wasn't exactly difficult, sensei," He stressed, "in fact, it was almost laughable. We've monitored ANBU's movements and know enough of the political atmosphere to--" 

_"Enough,"_ Kakashi had moved too quickly, before either Asano or Nagisa could raise a hand to help. Karma found himself pinned to a tree, Kakashi's grip bruising. He wasn't playing around. Not this time. "Do you have any idea what you three are getting yourselves into--" 

"I once travelled to outer space to get answers, _sensei,"_ Karma's teeth grazed Kakashi's ear as he murmured, "I don't like when things are kept from me. And I will cross any lengths to find answers. Answers pertaining to a lovely organization by the name of ROOT--" 

Kakashi narrowed his eye, tightening his crushing grip. Karma didn't allow himself to wince. "You are biting off more than you can chew, all three of you," He growled, and it was so feral, so furious, that Karma nearly lost his composure. "There is a point of no return, Akabane, and you just crossed it. You have no idea who you're dealing with." Kakashi's voice shook. Just a bit. 

It was imperceptible but there all the same.

_Fear._

Karma tilted his head lazily, red hair spilling across his mercury eyes. _"Oh?"_ He questioned, "I realize you are very ignorant about what kind of person I am, sensei, but let me just tell you this. All three of us know exactly what we are dealing with. A corrupt government that forces children to kill monsters--" There was something unmistakably personal that flashed through Karma's eyes, enough to make Kakashi wince, "-- _that's_ something we have experience in dealing with. We're not children, Hatake," Karma hissed, "we're weapons, the very product this village made us become. You told me to wake up to reality, I suggest you do the same." 

And in a move that would have made a taijutsu master like Gai proud, Karma twisted out of his grip before setting his limbs loose of his hold. 

Karma brushed the dust off his clothes, not giving Kakashi a second glance. 

"Fine, we'll comply. We go to Konoha. But don't come back crying once cute little Aguri gets snatched by some dark organization you don't have the guts to confront." 

The fire crackled, splashing ominous shadows on the leaves. 

Silence once more. 

_______________________

"Shit, Karma," Asano muttered under his breath, as they set off on their journey once more. 

Karma shot him an amused glance. "Let's put our heads together, Second-Place san. I'm even down for a coup to be honest." 

Asano groaned, "You're insufferable." 

"Thank you." 

"It wasn't a compliment." 

"I know." 

Asano snuck a glance at Nagisa, who was playing some little game with Aguri. The little girl was smiling weakly--it was good to see that her spirit still remained. 

"ROOT can't get her," Karma muttered, "all three of us dug around, taking every single precaution. I know we didn't make a mistake." 

"Kakashi could be right," Asano muttered, "we're just three brats, Karma." 

"What? So you're just going to let them take her?" Karma raked a hand through his red hair, visibly agitated, "just when I thought you weren't a coward--" 

"Can you shut up, _Akabane?_ " Asano suddenly snapped, violet eyes blazing as he rounded on him. "listen to yourself. We don't even know if we're being tracked right now. For all we know, ROOT knows we have been doing our little investigations. And you accuse me of being a coward? You think I'm _happy_ about all of this? This whole situation with Aguri?" 

"I don't know," It was too late because rage was flooding Karma's veins yet again because-- _this wasn't their world, they bit off more than they could chew and he couldn't bring himself to admit it_ \--"Your father wouldn't have batted an eye. Just like he was content with a bunch of schoolchildren being in the same room with an antimatter weapon." 

Asano narrowed his eyes and Karma knew he was in the danger zone.

But he couldn't help it; he never could.

He liked danger, always enjoyed dancing around death and destruction, if only to prove he was still alive. 

That was why he continued in the most apathetic voice he could muster, "There's so much resemblance between the two of you. Both obsessed with being strong and being an absolute control freak. I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you shared the same twisted _morals_ as well--" 

Karma saw the punch coming but made no effort to dodge it. Even he knew he deserved it. But he still made no effort to stop those words coming out of his mouth. He had always been too much of a smart-mouth for his own good. 

Asano probably broke his nose. No, scratch that. Asano _did_ break his nose. 

Karma skidded across the dirt road, aware of Nagisa shielding Aguri's eyes and covering her ears with the aid of Kakashi, in preparation for the ugly words to come. 

Asano was breathing heavily despite it only being one punch, but Karma knew better. He felt the slightest bit of chakra in the blow. Even in a situation like this, he admired Asano's control. 

_"Aww,"_ Karma flopped backwards, "I never imagined the perfect Student Council president to respond to a lowly delinquent's taunts." 

"If you were capable of looking beyond your own ego and self-pity, _Akabane,_ " Asano snarled, "you would be aware of the facts." 

"Self-pity sounds more like you, to be honest," Karma said spitefully. 

Asano's face darkened in black fury but he quickly composed himself at a superhuman speed. "Perhaps it is," He admitted, before his glazed-over eyes bore into his with a terrible focus. "But you won't let yourself admit that you're just as helpless as me in this situation. We're three genin and you expect us to what? Take on ROOT? Take on an underground organization that has thrived since the _Sandaime?_ " 

Karma felt the words burn. 

"Scratch confrontational, you're just plain _stupid,_ " Asano laughed bitterly, "if you hate everyone else's plan so much, then what is yours then, hmm? Go on, tell us your brilliant plan to save Aguri, Akabane. Go on." 

Karma wanted to glower, to fight against this fight with an invisible opponent. But no words came out. 

He just lay there, feeling thoroughly defeated in what seemed like ages. When did he allow emotions to cloud his judgement? When had he fallen away from logic? 

It was this whole situation that was wrong. 

"Just like I thought," Asano sneered, and the movement was like a knife slashed across the face. "Let me remarkably clear, Akabane. This isn't Kunigaoka. You won't get off with a slap on the wrist for being immature and stubborn. Konoha isn't a great option, I understand that. But we have a fighting chance if we can just talk with the Godaime. We're way in over our heads, Karma." 

From behind them, Karma saw Kakashi's lone grey eye focused on them intently. 

Nagisa was still covering a confused Aguri's eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Karma admitted and he swore he saw both his sensei and Asano's jaw drop open. "I was being a dick." 

Asano, however, recovered far more gracefully than Kakashi. "Apology accepted," He replied stiffly, though it was clear it was far from accepted. Nevertheless, the strawberry-blonde bent over a little and extended a hand to him. 

Karma studied it dubiously for a moment, as if seeing if it was rigged with traps, before grasping him by the arm and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. 

"Now," Kakashi droned, effectively breaking the awkward tension between them, "can we proceed? I would like to make more progress before any enemy nin encounters can occur." 

The two rivals nodded before making hesitant eye contact with each other. 

"You first, Second-Place san." 

Something pinged between them and with a silent nod, Asano led the way. 

______________________________

Each break he took, Karma found himself getting more and more tired. It wasn't anyone's fault but his own. They had been traveling at breakneck speed for hours and Kakashi looked visibly nervous about something. He kept sending furtive looks backwards, but was unable to relax despite not seeing anything. 

Karma finally got sick of all the secret glances during one of their second to last breaks, and straight-up demanded an answer from Kakashi. 

The copy-nin only shook his head. "It could be nothing. You three are still inexperienced. Needless panic should not be made." 

Karma narrowed his eyes. "So much for being honest with our feelings, _sensei._ " He stalked off to find more firewood, only to bump into Nagisa. Karma grabbed Nagisa by the shoulders, instantly righting the blue-haired assassin. 

Nagisa blinked owlishly. "Karma?" 

"He's hiding something," He signed to Nagisa. 

Nagisa shook his head before signing back, "I trust him. He won't backstab us, Karma." 

Karma wanted to sigh in frustration. Nagisa, he could understand to an extent. But Asano? Asano looked as if he could count on that bastard to have his back. 

"Why do you hate him so much?" Nagisa whispered, "are you still grieving for Koro--" 

"I'm not the only one," Karma gestured towards Nagisa, "don't think I don't see you looking off into the distance with eyes like a damn puppy." 

Nagisa relaxed a bit, chuckling. "I guess I'm easy to read for you." 

"Of course, knucklehead," Karma rubbed his head forcefully, letting a hint of fondness creep through. 

But Nagisa placed his hand on Karma's arm. "You can tell me, you know," He murmured, "I won't tell." 

Karma sighed, "It's just--" 

He suddenly stopped, mid-sentence. 

Nagisa blinked. "What?" He looked genuinely confused. 

Karma refused to allow his hand to shake as he plunged into his story. "He's called Friend-Killer Kakashi for a reason," He measured his words carefully, remembering Irina's lessons on deception and how to tell lies. He folded his arms, hunching in, to show that he was sensitive over the subject. "And I know he's making the logical decision, but I just can't agree with his assessment on the experiment." 

"And what don't you agree with?" 

"Oh, I don't know," Karma shrugged, his hand clutched onto the kunai he stashed in his jacket, "what I have the biggest problem is..." 

_"Is?"_ Nagisa prompted with a small gesture. 

Karma closed his eyes, steeling himself for the blow. "My biggest problem is his lack of honest communication." 

That was when he whipped out his kunai and stabbed Nagisa in the chest. 

Karma prayed he was right with his observation and just a few seconds later, he saw Nagisa sporting a very ugly, very wide grin. 

_"My, my,"_ He was hyperventilating as he saw the flicker of a serpentine tongue, "Kakashi's genin are always such a surprise. I'm curious, how did you know it was me?" 

Karma jumped backwards, putting a great deal of distance between him and the enemy. His hands flashed through hand seals. "Katon: Great Fireball jutsu!" 

There was a large surge of heat and then a burning, blistering fire ball scorched the ground and trees. Karma didn't even bother to look to see if he had finished him off. That wasn't Nagisa. That was an infiltrator. 

Up ahead, he heard shouts and clangs of metal. 

Karma pumped more chakra to his legs and _ran_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, back in the Assassination Classroom world. I also enjoyed reading a lot of your hypothesis--you all truly make the whole experience interesting. All I will say is don't assume.   
> Now that that's over with, let's review.   
> Did I just screw over Kakashi's team even more with our favorite resident snake Sannin? You bet I did. (Or our least favorite, considering he likes experimenting on people).   
> We also see mentions of ROOT. The question is, does Danzo know about the trio's investigations? Or does the trio escape, unscathed? You guys better get used to ROOT because it's gonna show up even more frequently.   
> Oh, and next chapter, just to warn you, you can expect a lot of action and angst. And maybe some familiar faces.   
> I warned you the plot is going to escalate.   
> Just sit back and watch it all burn.


	9. File #2: Assassination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irina finds clues. Lovro provides said clues. Nothing makes any fucking sense.

Lovro Brovski, hands shoved in his pockets, walked fluidly across the park. His apprentice, Irina, had thankfully learned over the years how to keep a low profile. Gone were the form-fitting dresses and diamond earrings, replaced with a sensible business skirt and a pea coat. Yet even still, she somehow couldn’t help but attract admiring looks, from both men and women alike. 

Lovro turned on the next corner as Irina shadowed him, checking to see if he had grown a tail, or any kind of government surveillance. A few minutes, Irina switched her direction and they redirected their steps towards a small cafe a few blocks from the park. Lovro was vigilant in checking for any spies and after a few minutes had passed, he determined that they were both clean and entered the cafe after Irina. 

His apprentice was already seated in the back area, legs crossed, and two steaming coffees waiting on the table. Lovro noted that she remembered that he liked his coffee black. 

The two said nothing, only exchanged the customary nod before raising the cups and taking a sip of the bitter liquid. Lovro couldn’t help the small smirk as he saw Irina add more sugar and cream to her coffee. The liquid faded from a dark amber to a honey brown. 

Irina was a child to the bone, it seemed. She could never get her hands away from anything sweet. 

“The government won’t back you on this,” Lovro wasn’t too worried about anyone overhearing. This was their spot. Their people ran this little corner cafe. 

Irina pursed her lips. “I think you know the answer to that, sensei.” 

“So, you left the Ministry man?” Lovro took another sip of his coffee, “a shame. He was a strong man.” 

Irina eyed the discarded sugar packets somewhat distastefully, as if they had done her a personal offense.   
“I was too caught in the game,” She admitted, allowing the childish simper to fade from her lips, replaced with a blank, empty expression. “I haven’t forgotten the ways, nor my instincts. Something is definitely wrong here.” 

She pulled out her smartphone before sliding it over to Lovro. “Your eyes could always see beyond, sensei,” She beseeched, “that was what you taught me. To look underneath the underneath.” 

Lovro watched the videos in succession, one after the other. 

Irina kept talking. “I couldn’t see it at first. But I remember that though my mind told me that what I was seeing was Nagisa and Karma, I never could remember their faces. It was blurred out, sensei, as if I was being drugged.” 

“And when you showed this to Karasuma-san, what did he say?” Lovro asked, remarkably calm, as an assassin should be. 

Irina couldn’t contain the sneer that marred her face. “He didn’t believe me.” Her fingers clenched on the fabric of her skirt. “But I know what I saw. What I am seeing right now.” 

Lovro focused back on the footage. It was clear. Remarkably so. 

Although there were a couple dozen witnesses who could attest to Nagisa and Karma being present during graduation, the swiped footage showed all. 

There was no sign of them. No sign at all. 

As if they had just been erased from existence. 

Lovro’s heart skipped a beat. Everyone had seen them, but they hadn’t been there. It was as if everyone else was under a trance...a--

Lovro’s mind stopped for a full second before he rebooted it forcefully. The gears were turning and all logical answers turned out to have loose ends. An illusion. 

“You said they were killed,” He said calmly, “where is the evidence?” 

“Their bodies disappeared,” Irina threw up her hands, “I cannot prove it in front of a court of law, sensei, however, I do know the kids.” She fixed him with a look from her fierce blue eyes. “They wouldn’t let anyone capture them. They have Ritsu for contact in times of trouble, but they weren’t able to.” The anger in the eyes slowly ebbed away as she sighed, “Lovro, these kids infiltrated a government base and you’ve trained Nagisa yourself. What kind of person has the skills to kidnap two kids on the government watch list who also have the finest assassination training in the world?” Her red nails dug into the wooden table. “I know for sure that Karma still carries around the knife I gave him for his birthday. Especially him. He’s too stubborn to be submissive and too smart to not leave a clue.” 

Lovro eyed his apprentice. “A lot of this is guesswork, Irina. You know how I feel about guesswork.” 

Irina visibly deflated, hopelessness creeping into those bright blue irises. “But--” 

Lovro held up his hand. “I didn’t say no,” He murmured, “it’s highly implausible, but I may have a lead.” 

Irina visibly brightened. 

Lovro continued, “I have a man in one of the lower levels. He arrived a few weeks ago and has created such fuss in the underground. However, authorities detained him and shipped him off to a mental hospital.” 

“A mental hospital?” Irina furrowed her eyebrows, “what for?” 

“The man had severe delusions,” Lovro narrowed his eyes, “about death and reincarnation in a different world. He was dressed strangely too and carried around the strangest weapons I had ever seen.” 

Irina watched as her sensei reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. A couple of quick taps and Irina received an email from an anonymous address. Opening the message, she stared at an encrypted copy of the man’s file and a picture of what looked like--

Irina squinted. She was sure she saw this knife on one of the brats’ field trips to that historical place. She saw it in a museum...it was… 

Irina looked up at Lovro in disbelief, “This is an old weapon, sensei. Outdated. Used by ninjas and the like.” 

“Indeed,” Lovro inclined his head and took yet another sip of his coffee. 

Irina was lost. “But what does this have to do--”

“The man kept ranting about illusions,” Lovro leveled a calculating stare at her, “we questioned him extensively but all he could explain was how such an illusion, when casted, could convince the person upon whom it was casted upon to see things that didn’t exist.” 

Irina was speechless. 

“Oh, and he may have mentioned something about dimension-hopping,” Lovro added at Irina’s disgruntled expression, “This could be a dead end for all we know, but I trusted my instincts the same as you did.” 

Lovro’s mouth was set in a grim line. 

“Out of all the men I interrogated, I could ensure he was sane,” He said in a low voice, “he was level-headed and had an explanation for practically all of his so called delusions. True, he could be a nutcase for all I know, but one look in his eyes and I knew he was telling me the truth. At the very least, perhaps he knows of this drug or whatever it is that could convince more than a dozen people that two people were in the graduation ceremony when they weren’t.” 

Irina nodded shakily. She had to keep her composure. 

Wiping her palms on her skirt pained her but she had little choice now. “What of the dead or missing records?” She questioned, “any luck? Any leads?” 

Lovro was silent as he took another sip of his coffee. 

“One more person,” He murmured, “in the exact same school disappeared. The police have it filed as a suicide.” 

“And you don’t think it is?” Irina’s breath hitched. 

Lovro showed her a bitter, twisted smile. “It could; it could not. The footage itself showed the young man jumping off on his own volition.”   
“But you saw something,” Irina pressed, eyes glittering dangerously. 

Lovro turned his gaze to her coolly. “You may thank that annoying octopus for whatever find I made. Without me having attempted to kill him or witnessed his movements, I could never have spotted it.” 

He slid his phone towards her once more and tapped “play.” 

Irina watched before she, too, gasped. The coffee nearly spilled onto the table before Lovro barely pushed it back with one finger. 

“The trick, my apprentice,” Lovro murmured, “is not to replay it in hopes of finding a clue. Slow everything down by a ridiculous amount, by the most ridiculous amount, and therein lies the answer.” 

Irina saw it. Even though the video was on its slowest setting, she saw a flicker of a dark tendril. Not a tendril, no, a tentacle to be precise. It was unmistakable. Irina had tried to stab the pervert-sensei too many times not to see the familiar movement. 

Something clicked in Irina’s mind as she replayed the video. A slight frown took its place on her face. “This...this is…” 

“Asano Gakushuu,” Lovro replied, steepling his fingers, “the son of the former Chairman of Kunigakoa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of a filler before the Orochimaru fight because dear God fight scenes take so many years out of my life XD   
> Anyways, I hope this chapter confused you more.   
> Some questions you should be wondering:   
> Who is this mental hospital patient?   
> Who killed Asano?   
> Why?   
> Was there a genjutsu involved during the graduation ceremony?   
> If so, who cast it?   
> Stay tuned and stay cool :))


End file.
